bug#6871: Please make linum-mode per buffer, not per major mode

[Stefan Monnier]

> Normally in my own code I just fix all the issues I see on the fly so
> to say. That is faster since I have already looked at the code then
> and knows what to do. Later (which may be much later) I might forget
> about exactly how to do it.

I have my own branch with a hodge-podge of changes in random order.
When I want to install a change from there to the trunk, I do a diff of
the relevant files and then pick the relevant parts and add
a ChangeLog message.

I usually take advantage of this opportunity to polish the change a bit
(which might mean to rewrite it completely in a different way, or just
add a comment, ...).  When I update my branch from trunk, I then get
"spurious conflicts", but they're easy to fix and usually having
a chance to revisit that code before committing it lets me improve
it significantly, so it's definitely worth the trouble.
Especially since it lets me (on the other side) make random changes to
my heart's content.


        Stefan