Chris Angelico writes:
Of course, the *thread* is generally about argument defaults, but
"everything" in it is not specifically about defaults. In *this*
subthread Eric was arguing for waiting for a facility for *generic*
deferral of expression evaluation, and I was trying (unsuccessfully)
to see if your syntax for defaults could be extended to the more
generic idea.[1] Elsewhere in the thread, you often ask about others'
ideas for such a facility, instead of saying "that's off-topic, you
have my proposal, let's keep discussion strictly to that" or
alternatively, "nobody claims that's more than vaporware, I say now is
better than never, nothing to see here, move on." In that sense, yes,
you can treat everything in this thread as being about argument
defaults by cutting short any other discussion (or just ignoring it).
There's nothing wrong with doing that -- but you did not. Instead you
talk about being confused, not understanding the suggested
alternatives, and you ask about them. In that context, it's on you to
try to channel others' thinking rather than demand that they channel
your confusion.
That makes no sense to me. If people have alternative proposals,
it's up to them to propose them. And to propose them as clearly and
explicitly as possible. (Yes, I understand that writing a fully
detailed spec is not easy or simple.) It's not Chris A's job to try
to clarify what