> Proposal: Change the rules so that backslash at the end of a line > (ignoring trailing white space) is always a continuation, whether or not
> it is in quotes, with leading white space on the next line removed. This
> is almost upwards-compatible: the only case where it isn't is if an
> existing, non-quoted, setting ends in backslash, which doesn't seem very
> likely. Such settings, if there are any, would have to be quoted.
This would certainly make things more readable (and of course writable). I
think that the goal should be (a) minimise the use of escape characters
where not absolutely necessary and (b) ensure unambiguous intent.
