OK, these seem quite significant changes that are likely to cause great pain. So I repeat my question, what are the benefits of making this change? They better be very very substantial.
I totally agree with Alvaro.
They will also cause massive pain for translators. There are already some changes that were pretty bad for me. For example, when all the tables in func.sgml were modified. In v15, I also remember massive changes on protocol.sgml. I won't complain if there is a significant benefit for readers, which is why I didn't complain for func.sgml even if it meant I had to translate it all over again. But if there's a massive change over the whole manual for a strictly limited benefit, I guess there won't be enough motivation for me to translate it all over again.