>>24
On a large code base, it is a big deal. http://kerneltrap.org/mailarchive/linux-kernel/2007/9/19/263753 noted that patching the Linux kernel would take 15M to repair.

Meanwhile, just ignoring the problem and coding like normal eventually will fix it. Note that http://lwn.net/2001/1129/a/whitespace.php3 shows that an 8M reduction has already occurred over the course of 6 years.