The man pages for the various coreutils do not mention the "--" method of delimiting the options list. Someone who finds a directory on their system named -<whatever> will not be able to figure out how to inspect it using ls or cd into it just by reading the manpages for those utilities. The rm manpage does mention it, but it seems likely someone finding such a directory will want to inspect it before deleting it. Since "--" is a common option of the coreutils, the best way of ensuring that someone reading their respective manpages always has access to that information, without redundantly pointing it out in every manpage, is to have a coreutils manpage that describes the common options of the coreutils programs and is referenced by the manpages of the individual coreutils programs.
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