Hi all,
I wasn't sure which mailing list to send this to, but I figured this would get a fair number of eyes. The hosts(5) manpage still includes a section that dates from 1983(!) and while interesting from an historic perspective is probably very confusing to any modern user:
"This file may be created from the official host data base maintained at
the Network Information Control Center (NIC), though local changes may be
required to bring it up to date regarding unofficial aliases and/or
unknown hosts. As the data base maintained at NIC is incomplete, use of
the name server is recommended for sites on the DARPA Internet."
Perhaps the time has come for its removal.
-Henry