Sorry, I didn't mean to imply that anyone in 1998 should have known specifically about %G. I was, rather, referring, more generally, to something like the wisdo

Sorry, I didn't mean to imply that anyone in 1998 should have known specifically about %G. I was, rather, referring, more generally, to something like the wisdom of finishing the man page, even if one thinks one has what one needs partway through, even if one is in a hurry. That's something I've personally tried to teach whenever I can, along with as many rationales for why this is the case that I can come up with at the time. This inherent flaw/tradeoff, of ordering, is one of them. No matter what order the author chooses, some reader (sometimes the same person at different times) will find that order suboptimal.