Symbols as parameters?

[Alf P. Steinbach]

* Steven D'Aprano -> Alf P. Steinbach:
> 
> 
> No, you got it spot on. Not to discourage you, but you're at least the 
> third person who pointed this out in this thread.

I get the impression that there's some message traffic that I don't see, perhaps 
on the mailing list, since (a) I haven't seen that about 'locals' pointed out by 
anyone else in this thread, and I think I've read all messages in the thread, 
and (b) sometimes threads pop up that start with a reply.

For example, the recent thread "Covert number into string" started with a 
/reply/ in my newreader, using EternalSeptember's NNTP host.

It also starts with a reply in Google's archives, <url: 
http://groups.google.com/group/comp.lang.python/browse_thread/thread/b8097d4de4a9c9b0/cb3a2e6ccd7736ef>.


Cheers,

- Alf

PS: No, I'm not metaphorically thin-skinned. :-)  As you can see in this thread 
I'm a pretty calm person, not getting upset by e.g. accusations of idiocy and 
insanity. The reason for my comments about being afraid to post is that even 
though rare cases of such language and ad-hominem just reflects on the one doing 
it, when it becomes a group/mob phenomenon then it creates an impression, like 
e.g. the one implicit in your "thin skin", that somehow I'm the one reacting to 
things by characterizing people  --  which the archives show is not so.