Should "synchronize" always count as a work item change?

Say you have modified your process configuration to add a new value to an enumeration. You "synchronize" all your project's work items to allow users to employ the new value.

This "synchronize" operation has at least three consequences which I wonder whether they are intended:
* This is recorded as an empty change in the work item history
* An e-mail notification is sent out to each subscriber
* The work item will be picked up by Java ETL builds such as WorkItemHistory and WorkItemBaseline.

Is this intended behavior or maybe a defect?

Observed in RTC 4.0.3.