Currently, GEdit will, by default, throw away changes to text files in case of an XWindows crash, a laptop running out of battery, or a power outage.

There is absolutely no reason for this, and the default should be changed.

Every time I reinstall my OS, I have to find this out the hard way by losing all the text in the Gedit window I use as a scratch pad to remember where I was up to in debugging my code. 

I have been advised that the ONLY WAY to avoid losing data is to start up GEdit and change my preferences. However, I'm gobsmacked that there is an expectation for users to remember to change the setting from 'please lose my data' to 'please save my data'.

On the GEdit team, someone has the power to change the default from an unnecessarily masochistic one, to one which might save people hassle and improve their lives.