I disagree. The modbset() function is used in many custom pages at PSI because people are tired of typing mjsonrpc_db_paste([path],[value]) vs. modbset(path, value). We need to keep 
modbset() which is well documented at 

https://midas.triumf.ca/MidasWiki/index.php/Custom_Page#modbset

Since modbset() does call the underlying mjsonrpc_db_paste(), it is as good or bad as that function. Plus it adds standard error handling to avoid the need of catching errors for each and 
every mjsonrpc_db_paste() call. If it is believed that modbset() has a problem, then this should be fixed in the source code of modbset(). Removing that function is not an option.

Stefan