title: Why is the formatMessage() method in java.util.logging.Formatter synchronized?
body: <p>In the abstract JDK class Formatter, which is used to format debug logs, the formatMessage method is declared as synchronized.</p>
  
  <p>However, I haven't been able to determine why that is the case.</p>
  
  <p>Obviously, one can write overriding versions that are not thread safe, but I'm wondering why the default implementation is not thread safe.</p>