specfun provides functions that shadow built-in functions

[Awhan Patnaik]

Octave version 3.4.0 on Archlinux with GCC 4.6.0. I am trying to
install the specfun package in order to satisfy all the dependencies
to install the ga package. When I try to install the specfun package I
get the following warnings:

warning: function /home/m/octave/specfun-1.0.9/erfcx.m shadows a
built-in function
warning: /home/m/octave/specfun-1.0.9/laguerre.m: possible
Matlab-style short-circuit operator at line 30, column 11
warning: gen_doc_cache: unusable help text found in file 'test_sncndn'
warning: function /home/m/octave/specfun-1.0.9/erfcx.m shadows a
built-in function

My question is why would a package from octave-forge provide a
function that shadows a built-in function? Is it safe to go ahead with
the install despite the warnings?