It's more that intent was irrelevant than any intent should be presumed. Word meanings drift and we update as we go. That doesn't mean the previous author was

It's more that intent was irrelevant than any intent should be presumed. Word meanings drift and we update as we go. That doesn't mean the previous author was evil; it means they were writing in a different context and the context is defunct. Especially for a living document like the documentation of a still-used tool, modifying word choice to avoid unintended negative connotation is wise.