decorator syntax polling suggestion

[Steven Bethard]

Erik Max Francis <max at alcyone.com> wrote in message news:<411BF3FC.71051A6F at alcyone.com>...
> The problem is that since it's an unofficial poll, and it's not clear that
> Guido will give much credence to it at all, there is really no incentive
> for people who are happy, or at least satisfied, with the current
> decorator syntax to vote in order to express their approval.

Your point is valid if the goal of the poll would be to influence
Guido.  The point of the polls I'm suggesting are not to influence
Guido at all, but to direct the discussion among the rest of us.  If
it so happens that those who are happy with the current proposal don't
vote, it actually doesn't make much of a difference, because those who
are happy with the current proposal and not interested in the
discussion enough to vote won't really be contributing to the
discussion anyway.

What I'm really interested in here is trying to build a consensus
among the dissatisfied people.  If you scan the list right now, you
can see that there are a hundred people going in a hundred directions.
I'm sure this looks to Guido like an insoluble problem that is best
handled by a "pronouncement".  On the other hand, if all (or at least
a substantial majority) of the people complaining about @decorators
now all got together and pushed the same counter-proposal, even if we
didn't have representatives from the happy-with- at decorators group, I
think we'd hold a lot more sway in Guido's eyes.

I don't actually expect to be able to get a consensus on everything. 
Location especially I expect we won't come to an agreement on.  But if
it looks like most of us want, say a keyword instead of a symbol, then
at least that's a step.

Steve