Hi,
I'd like to propose the "Anti-PEP".
As I'm sure you've all noticed, contentious PEPs like 572, and now 622,
generate a lot of email discussion.
It's easy to feel that people's opinions are being dismissed and that
legitimate criticisms aren't being heard.
Conversely, PEP authors may feel they are being bombarded with
criticism, which can be overwhelming.
The acceptance, or rejection, of a PEP should be a cool technical
decision. Whilst there may be considerations of aesthetics and usability
that make it difficult to objective, the goal should be to choose what
is best for the language in the long term.
When deciding on PEP 484, I had to decide between a formally written PEP
on one hand, and a mass of emails and informal polls I had done at
conferences, on the other.
I hope I made the right decision.
Whether the ultimate decision is made by the steering committee or by a
PEP delegate, it is hard to make a decision between the pros and cons,
when the pros are in a single formal document and the cons are scattered
across the internet.
An Anti-PEP is a way to ensure that those opposed to a PEP can be heard
and, if possible, have a coherent voice.
Hopefully, it would also make things a lot less stressful for PEP authors.
The Anti-PEP
------------
The Anti-PEP is a single document that describes why a particular PEP
should be rejected.
An Anti-PEP is not a counter PEP. A counter PEP suggests an alternative
solution to the same problem and will often share the same motivation as
the original PEP. An Anti-PEP would usually reject the motivation or
rationale, either as insufficient or as incorrect.
An example of a counter PEP is 576, which was a counter to 575. The
motivation was the same, but means proposed was quite different. As a
result of the ensuing to and fro, we ended up with PEP 590, which was a
clear improvement.
I don't have an example of an Anti-PEP.
We could start with PEP 611, https://www.python.org/dev/peps/pep-0611/.
There were many criticisms of it on this mailing list, and I can promise
the PEP author won't be upset by an Anti-PEP :)
Anyone care to volunteer?
Cheers,
Mark.
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