[Haskell-cafe] Indentation woes

[anon]

2007/7/26, Stefan O'Rear <stefanor at cox.net>:
> Out of curiousity, what do you find objectionable about (legal):
>
> function argument argument2
>  | guard = body
>  | guard = body
>
> as compared to (currently illegal):
>
> function argument argument2
> | guard = body
> | guard = body

The extra space, obviously :-)
I'm well aware that this is an issue of vanishingly small consequence,
but one could likewise dismiss the entire layout business as a
needlessly complicated way to save a few keystrokes if one were so
inclined. If language complexity is the chief concern, why not
dispense with layout altogether (and a few more things beside)?
Perhaps fuzzy notions of aesthetics and intuitiveness should weigh
into the equation as well unless you don't mind programming in the
unadorned lambda calculus.