That said, Gentoo always had separate config files located in /etc/conf.d. So the idea of not having one single rc.conf is not this new. Nevertheless one single /etc/rc.conf makes the administration a bit more comfortable, because you have all settings at a glance and don't need to cat or edit several files.
specifically relevent
Sounds like you (don't take this a personal critism, you're not alone) have poor administration practices. Editing multiple files instead of one in not a problem at all. In fact, it's the exactly opposite.
Offended for no reason
The pain is the need to merge new changes while updating. Some tools (like pacdiff) can help with the job but it's very frustrating to have one configuration file and merge lot of changes in it. Especially when it comes to cosmetic/comments changes.
Having one big configuration file means it's much easier to make mistakes in it and have strong problems because of that. Dedicated files to services/requirements make such problems more isolated. So, we're going a better robustness, better expectations compliance for new incoming users (and admins having more than one arch desktop to maintain).
Irrelevent here. It's poor administration practice not to check your seds, eds, files to install or sudoedits anyway. -- ________________________________________________________ Why not do something good every day and install BOINC. ________________________________________________________