http://www.python.org/sf/411881 is a bug about removing use of 'except:' in stdlib code. In many cases the intent is to catch one particular exception such as ImportError or AttributeError, but catching all exceptions can disguise other problems. Should PEP 8 mention this issue? Here's some proposed text for discussion: - When catching exceptions, mention specific exceptions whenever possible instead of using a bare 'except:' clause. For example, use:: try: import platform_specific_module except ImportError: platform_specific_module = None A bare 'except:' clause will catch SystemExit and KeyboardInterrupt exceptions, making it harder to interrupt a program with Control-C, and can disguise other problems. If you want to catch all exceptions that signal program errors, use 'except StandardError:'. A good rule of thumb is that you should only use 'except:' if the exception handler will be printing out or logging the traceback; at least the user will be aware that an error has occurred. --amk