localize $\ ?

Greets,

Why is it necessary to localize the output record separator in  
OutputStream?
I see this entry in the Changes file:

  - localise $\ in Plucene::Store::OutputStream so -l works [Chris  
Nandor]
... and I see that instance in t/datesearch.t, the shebang line reads...

#!/usr/bin/perl -wl

But why is the the -l switch used in that test?  The only thing I can  
see that it does is break the test if I remove all the "local $\"  
commands in OutputStream.
The -l switch (which I've never used) turns on autochomp and sets $\  
= $/;  the effect in this case is to wreck the index by adding a  
bunch of of spurious newlines.
Who's using Plucene with -l ?

Marvin Humphrey
Rectangular Research
http://www.rectangular.com/