I can't figure out what, concretely, davef is asking for.
Would you prefer a spec which changes from time to time to falsely claim that it is final? You would prefer that the spec not change even when demands mean the implementation must, so then the spec will just not match? Or would you prefer the BIP have never been written in the first place, saving an epic boatload of time for the authors? Something else?
I don't intend to snark either, but your generalized complaint is totally opaque to me-- to the point that I can't even discuss it with you because I just can't tell what you expect.
I guess what DaveF and to some extend OP are asking for is an additional status like "Proposed" that indicates something has been merged and released but is still in a state of flux? Or is this what "Proposed" means anyway?
How about in use but still regularly updated?
Or Active and still under development?
Or "Yes you can use it, it's in the current release but be aware that it will probably be changed in the future so if something stops working during an update this may or may not be the case."
OK, the last one is a bit long but you get the idea. But something, anything, that lets people who are not familiar with every function and every call of
BTC (or any software for that matter) but does know some programming or is working with another app that deals with it that it's there and working this way today but might not be the same tomorrow.
Like @achow101 said above having it be "final" and still add or still change things would not be good either. So I just think there needs to be something else there.
In a perfect world we would all have time to read every change-log of everything we are using but we can't.As I said, it's not just BTC it's things that interact with it so tracking down things that stopped working can be long and painful.
But the best way to put it is what I tell some clients: If it's in the server room *in pencil* it might be wrong.
If it's in the operations manual as a printout it's correct as of the date on the printout.
If after that there were changes made, they will be noted, even if the exact changes are not listed, you at least know stuff was changed.
-Dave