I think it is a good idea!
The password has often confused newcomers and made it harder to debug an intial setup.
How about the -r flag? Some time ago it became necessary for me to use it, apparently
due
to changes in the kernel around multicasting. Is this still the current situation on the
latest
Debian release? Or can ampr-ripd again work without -r?
Depending on this, it may be good to make some change in that default too.
Rob