Just a small addon: from the point of view of NaviServer, it would be the best thing to use "ns_locationproc" to define the OpenACS understanding of the location (i.e. handling the OpenACS specific host-node map). The definition would be similar to "util_current_location" (without calling ns_conn from there). This would mean, one could use "ns_conn location" or "util_current_location" in essence interchangeable, it would not make a difference. This change would simplify usage for OpenACS users - and would be "the right thing" from the NaviServer perspective.
However, "ns_locationproc" is a NaviServer thingy, this would not work with AOLserver; ... so there would be the need for the time being for two implementations, with some more potential for breaking the setup on a few sites.
