Sometimes it's painful, normally it's not, and yes - the longer lived it is the more painful it's likely to be. no-ff merges are easier, but leave a messier no

Sometimes it's painful, normally it's not, and yes - the longer lived it is the more painful it's likely to be. no-ff merges are easier, but leave a messier non-sequential history of when things actually go out which is sometimes confusing when understanding why things are the way they are; I generally, but not always, judge it to be worth the pain!