Earlier quoted context omitted.
i make extensive use of hardlinks in my files (especially with photos), and i don't see the problem. if i remove a file, i don't usually want it gone completely, but i want removed from this particular location, if it is hardlinked elsewhere, i usually still want to keep it there. if i want to really remove it, i can scrub the contents without removing the hardlink, and if i want to delete after scrubbing i check the…
Doesn’t a lot of software break hardlinks on edit? I think non-database software usually completely replaces the file via overwrite or atomic rename. Sometimes you might want that behavior, but other times you might not. But there’s no option in any app I’ve seen to choose how to handle hardlinks on edit/save.
fortunately in my case this issue is not a problem. i use hardlinks mainly for pictures where i never want to replace the original anyways, so editing always gets me a copy which i don't need to link to multiple places.