-@xref{Large Initialization,,Initialization of Large Aggregate Areas},
-for information on how to change the point at which
-@code{g77} decides to issue this warning.
-@end ifset
-
-@cindex debugging
-@cindex common blocks
-@cindex equivalence areas
-@cindex local equivalence areas
-@item
-Previous versions of @code{g77} didn't emit information on
-variable and array members of common blocks and equivalences
-for use with a debugger (the @samp{-g} command-line option).
-As of the version of @code{g77} shipped with version 3.0 of
-@code{GCC}, this is corrected.
-
-As of Version 0.5.19, a temporary kludge solution is provided whereby
-some rudimentary information on a member is written as a string that
-is the member's value as a character string.
-
-@ifset DOC-G77
-@xref{Code Gen Options,,Options for Code Generation Conventions},
-for information on the @samp{-fdebug-kludge} option.
+A warning message is issued when @code{g77} sees code that provides
+initial values (e.g. via @code{DATA}) to an aggregate area (@code{COMMON}
+or @code{EQUIVALENCE}, or even a large enough array or @code{CHARACTER}
+variable)
+that is large enough to increase @code{g77}'s compile time by roughly
+a factor of 10.
+
+This size currently is quite small, since @code{g77}
+currently has a known bug requiring too much memory
+and time to handle such cases.
+In @file{@value{path-g77}/data.c}, the macro
+@code{FFEDATA_sizeTOO_BIG_INIT_} is defined
+to the minimum size for the warning to appear.
+The size is specified in storage units,
+which can be bytes, words, or whatever, on a case-by-case basis.
+
+After changing this macro definition, you must
+(of course) rebuild and reinstall @code{g77} for
+the change to take effect.
+
+Note that, as of version 0.5.18, improvements have
+reduced the scope of the problem for @emph{sparse}
+initialization of large arrays, especially those
+with large, contiguous uninitialized areas.
+However, the warning is issued at a point prior to
+when @code{g77} knows whether the initialization is sparse,
+and delaying the warning could mean it is produced
+too late to be helpful.
+
+Therefore, the macro definition should not be adjusted to
+reflect sparse cases.
+Instead, adjust it to generate the warning when densely
+initialized arrays begin to cause responses noticeably slower
+than linear performance would suggest.