RE: Window configuration

[Drew Adams]

> I swear, if emacs "steals" a window to reuse for something else again,
> I'm going to swing an axe at it.
> 
> Is there any way to specify that windows containing buffers which have
> a certain mode should *never* be reused or closed unless specifically
> by user action (for example visiting a new file from the window)?

Yes, make them dedicated windows.
See the Elisp manual, node `Dedicated Windows'.
See the Elisp manual, node `Choosing Window'.

The easiest way to do this is to use `special-display-regexps', giving it a
regexp that matches all buffer names. By default, a "special-display" buffer is
shown in a dedicated window.