modules.conf vs conf.modules

[Kent West <westk@acu.edu>]

Okay, I'm been looking off-and-on for weeks, and in earnest for the past
hour, and maybe I'm just blind and/or stupid, but I can not find an
explanation of the difference between conf.modules and modules.conf.

I think maybe that conf.modules is the official name (according to some
Linux Standards Base or something similar), but that modules.conf is
more consistent with other configuration files, what with the .conf
being at the end of the name.

Can anyone verify that this is the case? Add any info? Which should I
use on my system? Do I have a choice? Is there a plain-english ("for
dummies") page somewhere that explains how modules work (modutils vs
/etc/modules vs kmod vs kerneld vs conf.modules vs modules.conf vs
/etc/modutils/ vs auto vs specific items in /etc/modules vs compile-in
vs Godzilla vs Buck Rogers in the 23rd Century)?

Thanks!

Kent