FUNCTION-TYPE

When Clinger and I proposed this cleanup, it was the maximally clean
version, and that is the one I support. On the other hand, I believe that
there is little reason to actually press for the maximally clean version.

In some sense, all of us are trying to ``spread the word'' about Lisp,
trying to get currently non-Lisp programmers to switch. We could do this
if there were some way for mainstream computing to be done in Lisp.
With a language like Common Lisp this is not possible - it is too big
and it is growing. What we could have hoped to accomplish with this
cleanup is a first step towards establishing a continuum of Lisps from
Scheme up through Common Lisp. Even if we were to adopt this change, the
period until we had the continuum would be lengthy.

I don't think we can win this game quickly given the time constraints
and the current state of Common Lisp. We continue to argue about the
filigrees.

I believe that we ought to minimally clean up Common Lisp and rapidly
move on to the next great Lisp language design.

			-rpg-