The actual programs were trying to load the exclusions file before reading
.package (or even, in one case, without trying to read it at all). I failed
to notice this because I had a "-X" option that duplicated the intended use
of the setting in my .package file.
&profile; # Read ~/.dist_profile
&usage unless getopts("dhkmoOstvwGMVL:X:");
-my %excluded_symbol;
-read_exclusions($opt_X);
$MC = $opt_L if $opt_L; # May override public library path
$MC = &tilda_expand($MC); # ~name expansion
chop($WD = `pwd`); # Working directory
unlink 'Obsolete' unless $opt_w; # Obsolete file rebuilt if no -w
&readpackage; # Merely get the package's name
&init; # Various initializations
+my %excluded_symbol;
+read_exclusions($opt_X); # Load -X or .package equivalent
`mkdir .MT 2>&1` unless -d '.MT'; # For private temporary files
&locate_units; # Fill in @ARGV with a unit list
$NEWMANI = $opt_f || (-f 'MANIFEST.new' ? 'MANIFEST.new' : 'MANIFEST');
+&readpackage; # Merely get the package's name
&init; # Various initializations
+my %excluded_symbol;
+read_exclusions($opt_X); # Load -X or .package equivalent
`mkdir .MT 2>&1` unless -d '.MT'; # For private temporary files
unlink 'Obsolete'; # Obsolete file rebuilt