Deposing Dictators

[Tim Peters]

[Paul Boddie]
> I can understand Arthur's confusion, though. If you look at the
> original posting concerning the patch, it does seem as if VPython was
> a strong motivation:

You think this is the first time the subject has been raised?  Relentless
confusion isn't so easy to explain.

> ...
> VPython probably is irrelevant to PEP 238 at this stage, apart from
> being a project which will benefit directly from the changes brought
> about by being pulled into the mainstream. However, it's unfair to
> pretend that Arthur has imagined influences that VPython (and Alice)
> may have had:

I acknowledged no more than two days ago that Alice was the first project to
"make a big stink" out of division semantics.  That was never in dispute,
but it's old news now and no longer of interest to the future of PEP 238.

Suppose a florist points out that bad things happen to good people, and
that's bad for business.  It doesn't matter that a florist pointed it out,
nor does it matter that the florist may be (even foolishly) overlooking that
for every romance cut short by unfair tragedy, other tragedies increase
flower sales.  If you're in the florist business, *maybe* that's interesting
to argue, and argue, and argue about, but if you're in the business of just
trying to make life a little better, it's simply irrelevant who pointed it
out, or even whether their analysis of their particular situation was 100%
wrong.

I've neither attacked nor defended anything the VPython people have had to
say, simply because it doesn't matter to *Python*.  Their suggestion was a
good one regardless (and wasn't original even with Alice, BTW -- but Alice
was, IIRC, the first to "make a big stink" about it).  WRT their own
project, I'm inclined to believe they understand the details of their own
work better than anyone on c.l.py -- but that's the first and last time I'll
even mention that.

> ...
> With revisions 1.10 and 1.12 of the PEP 238 document also as evidence,
> I can understand some people wanting to know more about the
> *motivations* for the impending changes.

That's what the Rationale section of the PEP is for; they should read it.

> Indeed, the motivations are more interesting to some people than the
> actual changes themselves, because they are part of a decision-making
> process which is interesting and instructive to observe.

Even if you're an historian (and so have an *excuse* to demand that the
world sate your idle curiosity <wink>), you'll learn much more about that by
taking an active role in a current discussion than by excavating Usenet for
the bones of old ones.  Even better, write a PEP and get a first-hand view
of what life is like from the other side.

but-first-invest-in-a-high-capacity-flame-resistant-mail-reader-ly y'rs
    - tim