This option is only required for buggy plugins, and the reason this option is off by default is because it can mess with the expectations a user may have regarding other (broken?) plugins. The problem with enabling this option is that the moment OpenMPT runs some silence through those plugins to check if their output is silent, the clock is ticking - meaning that if the plugins don't synchronize their time correctly, or if they have free-running LFOs, the output of those plugins may not be as expected. Maybe the outcome of this is less bad, it's hard to tell - either way, there will always be some plugins that won't behave as intended no matter what's the default.

ah ok thanks for the clarity. It is obviously a tricky one with lots of nuance. And yeah we definately dont want the timing to be off... hmmm...
Ok I will close this, it is not anywhere near as cut and dry as I initially thought. Oh I cant close the issue - I guess... Or maybe there is something I am missing here - you can close it if you want.

It doesn't need to be closed, just because there is no easy solution doesn't mean that the problem cannot / shouldn't be addressed.

Alright then, I am glad to have brought it up in that case.
And now that you mention it, I can think of a lengthy and, unfortunately, entirely community based 'solution' ish kinda thing... people report which vsts hang over and force the use of this option and specific exceptions are then adjusted for in the software... But yeah as my lack of enthusiasm on that one might illustrate, I dont think that a lengthy community wide participation solution would be a good move... but I will present the thought in case it is the only one going.

+1.
I always clear the plugin buffer before export.
What if we had an Advanced Option choosing the default behavior?

The more obvious solution would be to remember the state of this setting between individual exports. This is mostly not done for historical reasons at this point, but there's no reason why it should not be remembered like other settings.

Thats sounds like an intuitive couple of solutions. I wouldnt mind seeing both. Maybe a tick box after the option? '[•]make default' and it will automatically remember if the plugin buffer has been set to on or off per session of ompt by default too. The best of both worlds and as little interface as possible.

As of r21995, the checkbox is now set by default. Remembering the settings of this and some other useful options will have to wait a bit longer.

Actually, r21996 now persists "Clear Plugins Buffers" and "Normlize" across runs.