Being like that for a long time is not a justification for terrible defaults.
Also works better on Windows where .path is not hidden
Also it seems Rob Pike one of the creators of Go and involved with early UNIX thinks that . making hidden files was a mistake. Quote via XahLee http://xahlee.info/UnixResource_dir/writ/unix_origin_of_dot_... - original was Google+ so not existing now.
They had a kb shortcut for it