The prefix 'new' should provide a clue.
Maybe I have seen the use of the word 'new' too often to believe it means anything other than 'new set of bugs' 
There have been several servo libraries, is one with 'New' in its name the one to use ?-)
Have you read NewSoftSerial? It is significantly more complex for a beginner to get to grips with and understand. So it may be technically superior (in some dimensions), but significantly inferior for other purposes i.e. learning.
I don't see why the SoftwareSerial library example referenced on that library page is not included in the Arduino IDE download, on the Examples menu. It looks like an error to miss it.
If someone has decided to make SoftwareSerial obsolete or deprecated, then there should be a clear statement in the code, and documentation (library and release notes) to say so.
If the recommended library is NewSoftSerial, put a clear statement at the top of the SoftwareSerial library page and the library reference page.
Then, everything is clear. No 'clues', or 'hints', or making things so awkward that it looks like a bug.