Node modified date and Alfresco book-keeping?

[sacco]

Does anybody know whether the  'modified'  timestamp of a node is guaranteed to be the same
as the 'created' timestamp in the event that nothing at all has happened to the node since
its creation.

I'm aware that the 'modified' timestamp is updated in the event that the node is merely
locked and un-locked (even just being opened through WebDAV without ever being saved),
which, IMO, already makes the property pretty much entirely useless, but I was trying
to understand whether there is any residual use for this property.

[sacco]

As a subsidiary question, are there any plans for Alfresco to manage the
normal essential book-keeping metadata (e.g. content modified date, etc.),
or is each user expected to develop this for himself?

Most of what might be required can probably be done as extensions
(although some aspects will be tricky), but this kind of thing is far better
done as a core system functionality (besides requiring eternal maintenance
if implemented by users).