http://gcc.gnu.org/onlinedocs/gcc/Namespace-Association.html says:
"Caution: The semantics of this extension are not fully defined. Users should refrain from using this extension as its semantics may change subtly over time. It is possible that this extension will be removed in future versions of G++. " Is it safe to assume that the semantics are now fixed to match those of C++11 inline namespaces and will not change unless removed? If so I'll prepare a patch for the manual.