I think they should be on topic here.
Configuration of such packages have typically more to do with Emacs/elisp than a statisticsstatistics or TeX site. I've actually asked AucTeX questions on TeX StackExchange, and the only people who seemed to have a clue were the two people who happened to be active in AUCTeX development. Note that two of these three questions still don't have a satisfactory answer.
The wider TeX community is mostly not expert in Emacs lisp or Emacs at the level necessary to answer a non-trivial AUCTeX question.
Similar comments apply to ESS and SLIME, for example, I think.