I could understand getting rid of nano. For some users, apt-get remove might be the easiest way they can think of for not defaulting to having nano called from

I could understand getting rid of nano. For some users, apt-get remove might be the easiest way they can think of for not defaulting to having nano called from other applications, as opposed to finding out about the proper way that Debian would like you to use. Most users would likely know about apt-get long before they ever chance across update-alternatives, (or whatever today's editor-default-selection-method-of-choice is, if it's not that anymore). I suspect that there are a range of user antipatterns due to either not knowing, or not having the time or inclination to lookup this month's correct method of doing some given task, and people will default to using old methods or silly workarounds.