> My point was that under the circumstances we are stuck with people who
> DO use the leading dot to make files disappear from directory listings
> and they won't budge :-)

what the intent of the leading dot might be is not recorded in the file system and
one can ignore the convention as one wishes, with no impact to any other user.
i don't remember the last time i've hidden dot files from myself by using only
the standard options on a unix-y system.

- erik