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Can you cite a source for that?

http://wwwnew.towson.edu/ows/proref.htm

I've never before heard the "one, clear, unmistakable noun" discussion and was never taught that identification with antecedents was that strict. Certainly you should remove troublesome ambiguity, but must one always remove all possibility?

It's clear that this habit is common; people write like this all the time. Let's face it: on a newsgroup, one can get away with it. (Heh. :-) However, for formal documentation, writers should adhere to the rules that prohibit the presence of such ambiguities. Dave