[jeremysmyth]

Different supported features make it easier to maintain such a client. Example: Some filesystems notify observers on file change, some don't.

[viraptor]

This shouldn't affect other local filesystems though. Inotify won't work with NFS, but should be ok with fs owned by the local system.

[Spivak]

The mistake is assuming that there's something special about 'local' filesystems. They have as much feature disparity as networked ones.