EMACS

If you are an EMACS user, probably the very first thing you will want to do is to configure EMACS not to leave turds lying around everywhere. This way, you can then edit files with impunity and not have to worry about cleaning up Stallman's mess everywhere you go:

~/.emacs:
/root/.emacs:

Add, at least:

     (custom-set-variables
     '(make-backup-files nil))
     (custom-set-faces)

Or, if you prefer, set the global default to prevent emacs from leaving turds lying around. To do this, hack the file default.el, which is usually installed in the directory /usr/share/emacs/site-lisp. If this directory doesn't exist, look for the directory in the library path that contains the EMACS lisp modlues (".el").

/usr/share/emacs/site-lisp/default.el:

Add, at least:

     (custom-set-variables
     '(make-backup-files nil))