I don't know that this particular case is so much "contextual intent and intended audience" failure as it is that K&R C is suggested, unilaterally, for anyone l

I don't know that this particular case is so much "contextual intent and intended audience" failure as it is that K&R C is suggested, unilaterally, for anyone learning C. It's the bible, and you can't hand someone a bible and then tell them that page 37 line 23 characters 3 and 4 need to be swapped, or you'll summon Satan. They won't remember it when they read that line, nor after they've passed it, they'll just go ahead and summon Satan because the bible told them to. Multiply by 1000 suggestions to warn someone about C. It's basically impossible to adequately warn people that K&R C is unsafe when exposed to the real world, so it's an unsafe suggestion in the way it's usually suggested.