In GNOME 3.12, it is possible to go to Settings -> Details and change the hostname of the machine. This actually results in the contents of /etc/conf.d/hostname being updated, which is cute, but it also calls "hostname" to immediately change the hostname, which happens to confuse various programs. If you have a root shell open in terminal, for example, applications with X support such as vim will not be able to run, and after restart, Chrome will get a bit confused and prompt you about your settings being on a remote host (which after a few clicks, is resolved, so no big deal.)

It may make sense to disable this "feature" as it can cause more harm than good.