[Gimp-developer] Get rid of the floating selection where possible?

[Cordylus Interneter <cordylus zoho com>]

I'll start by quoting the documentation:

"In early versions of GIMP, floating selections were used for performing operations on a limited part of an 
image. You can do that more easily now with layers, but you can still use this way of working with images."

This is how I feel about it, like it is a legacy. It encourages a destructive way of working: click anywhere 
to get your change merged down to the original layer. Yes, you can make a new layer out of it (with much less 
convenient hotkey by default than anchoring), but why it needs an additional step in the first place? Why 
create a temporary layer and all this limiting modality instead of a normal layer, what it gives?

I see that you are looking forward to non-destructive editing. Removing the floating selection concept feels 
like a good first step toward this goal to me.

What I suggest is:
- Whenever a floating selection is created automatically (paste, transform selection, Ctrl+Alt+drag), right 
away convert it to a new full-fledged layer where possible.
- Unify Anchor Layer and Merge Down actions and their hotkeys.

Where it isn't possible currently and will have to be left as it is:
- "Cannot create a new layer from the floating selection because it belongs to a layer mask or channel."
- Paste Into provides functionality that I'm not sure can be easily reproduced with normal layers.

What are your thoughts on this? Do you agree, disagree, or want to point out some use cases for the floating 
selection that I've missed?