i second this request. its something that is very trivial, doesnt take up much space at all, and adds alot of value to the board for 'production' use. perhaps if the arduino folks dont do it, then one of the clones (boarduino, bbb, etc.) will add it.
Well, this solution was implemented on Arduino Severino (the s3v3 version here: http://www.arduino.cc/en/Main/ArduinoBoardSerialSingleSided3 ), and "the folks" like you said, have discussed with me about this feature (the jumper to disable auto reset), suggesting the software solution, but at the end they accepted the hardware (jumper) solution.
So, if someone else will use this feature, this will not be a novelty, because the arduino team already did it, accepting its implementation on the Severino board.