State object instead of module states

From #2832:

I really don't want more module level state variables 1) as they are major blockers against #2187 as those variables only initialize once and 2) it makes harder to track how modules depends on others. Modules should ideally only export functions and constants, not variables.

I guess 2) is hard to solve in current code structure though, but maybe we can create a new object to save states and pass it instead of current conf to at least make modules more modularized:

const respecDoc = {
  configuration, // current conf
  possibleExternalLinks,
  /* ... other states that can change during module runs ... */
};

Start by reviewing the concerns in #2832 and the blocker described in #2187, then trace where module-level state and the current conf object are used. The proposed direction is a shared state object such as respecDoc, but the issue does not identify files, entry points, or tests. Done would require a defined modular state design and corresponding updates across the affected modules.