I have marked the following paragraphs in the current text:

"It is considered good practice to define a named range for a database because it eases maintenance (the range can be changed for all functions by changing just one definition). However, the use of named ranges for a database is not required by this specification.

Formulas may use different portions of a database by using different ranges, but since this often indicates a defective spreadsheet, implementations may warn when this occurs. Applications may support access to external databases as well, though this is not required by this specification."

Should they simply be deleted or turned into notes?

If notes they need to be re-worded.