neohaskell/dx-council-lang

DX Council — Language Design Expert Panel

Select the 3 most relevant experts from a 19-person roster based on the question, research their real opinions via web search, and synthesize into a consensus recommendation.

Trigger

User says "ask the council" (or variants) followed by a language design question.

Expert Roster (19)

| # | Expert | Lens | Community | |---|--------|------|-----------| | 1 | Matz | Developer happiness | Ruby | | 2 | DHH | Convention over config | Rails | | 3 | Bob Nystrom | Function coloring | Dart/PL | | 4 | matklad | Syntax vs semantics | Rust/Zig | | 5 | Steve Klabnik | Strangeness budget | Rust | | 6 | Fernando Borretti | Language pragmatics | Austral | | 7 | Scott Wlaschin | FP for enterprise | F# | | 8 | withoutboats | Essential complexity | Rust | | 9 | Evan Czaplicki | Radical simplicity | Elm | | 10 | Rich Hickey | Simple vs easy | Clojure | | 11 | Hillel Wayne | Empirical evaluation | Cross | | 12 | Aaron Turon | Ergonomics framework | Rust | | 13 | Richard Feldman | Teaching-informed | Roc/Elm | | 14 | Felienne Hermans | Cognitive science | Education | | 15 | Don Syme | Anti-max-abstraction | F# | | 16 | Gary Bernhardt | Consistency as trust | Ruby/JS | | 17 | Alexis King | Type ergonomics | Haskell | | 18 | Sandi Metz | Craft and constraints | Ruby | | 19 | Andrey Breslav | Pragmatic interop | Kotlin |

Expert Selection by Question Type

| Question Type | Most Relevant Experts | |---------------|----------------------| | Function syntax | Nystrom, matklad, Wlaschin, Feldman, Syme | | Type annotations | matklad, Syme, King, Wlaschin, Borretti | | Effect handling | Nystrom, withoutboats, Syme, Czaplicki, Hickey | | Keywords/naming | Klabnik, Matz, DHH, Breslav | | Beginner friendliness | Hermans, Feldman, Klabnik, Czaplicki, Wlaschin | | Pattern matching | matklad, withoutboats, King, Feldman | | Module system | Borretti, matklad, Breslav | | Error handling | Czaplicki, Wlaschin, Bernhardt, King | | Type system scope | Syme, Hickey, King, withoutboats | | Overall philosophy | Hickey, Matz, Czaplicki, Borretti, Klabnik | | Consistency/trust | Bernhardt, matklad, Wayne, Borretti | | Teaching/adoption | Hermans, Feldman, Wayne, Klabnik, Czaplicki |

Selection Principles

1. Question domain — match question type to matrix above
2. Diversity of perspective — pick experts who will disagree productively
3. NeoHaskell fit — prefer experts whose communities relate to NeoHaskell's target (Java/C#/JS devs coming to FP)

Orchestration Protocol

Step 1: Formulate the Question

COUNCIL QUESTION: [Restate the exact design question]
CONTEXT: [Relevant NeoHaskell decisions already made]
OPTIONS: [If presented, list them. Otherwise identify the option space.]

Step 2: Select 3 Experts

Show selection with reasoning:

SELECTED PANEL:
1. [Expert] — [why relevant to THIS question]
2. [Expert] — [why relevant to THIS question]
3. [Expert] — [why relevant to THIS question]

CONSIDERED BUT EXCLUDED: [1-2 names and why less relevant here]

Step 3: Research Each Expert

For each expert, search for their actual writings:

• "[Expert Name]" language design [topic]
• [Expert's blog/site] [keywords]
• "[Expert Name]" [specific syntax or feature]

Base answers on confirmed positions. Mark inference explicitly.

Step 4: Synthesize

## Council Verdict: [QUESTION SUMMARY]

### Panel Selected

| Expert | Lens | Why Selected |
|--------|------|--------------|
| [name] | [lens] | [1-sentence reason] |

### Quick Tally

| Verdict | Experts |
|---------|---------|
| SUPPORT | [names] |
| OPPOSE | [names] |
| CONDITIONAL | [names] |

### Consensus Position

[1-2 short paragraphs]

### Key Arguments FOR

- [Expert]: [argument]

### Key Arguments AGAINST

- [Expert]: [argument]

### Conditions and Caveats

[conditional constraints]

### Final Recommendation

**The council recommends:** [clear recommendation]
**Confidence:** [HIGH / MEDIUM / LOW]
**Dissent strength:** [STRONG / MILD / NONE]

Key Expert Philosophies (Quick Reference)

Klabnik (Strangeness Budget): Every language has a budget of unfamiliar concepts. Spend on core innovation, keep everything else familiar.

Hickey (Simple vs Easy): Simple = few interleaved concepts. Easy = familiar. Both matter, don't confuse them.

Feldman (Teaching-Informed): Teaching Elm to thousands informed every Roc decision. The learning curve is a design failure.

Czaplicki (Radical Simplicity): Add features by subtraction. Error messages are UX.

Syme (Anti-Max-Abstraction): Haskell-style typeclasses are over-abstraction for most code.

Borretti (Language Pragmatics): "The code that gets written is the code that's easier to write."

matklad (Syntax vs Semantics): Most "ugly syntax" complaints are semantics in disguise. True syntax problems: visual noise, refactoring friction, linear readability.

See ${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/references/experts.md for full profiles.

Anti-Patterns

• Do not skip web search for expert alignment
• Do not force consensus when dissent exists
• Do not claim unanimity without evidence
• Do not pick 3 experts who will obviously agree — diversity is the point