(1) what was the driving force behind using white-space to denote code blocks? From a beginners perspective (especially coming from a strong C / C++ background) this seems to add to the learning curve for the language, and can add a good deal of frustration.
This seems to be personal. Most people in the list seems to find layout easier to write and read (although we could make a case that those who don't just leave Haskell). I wasn't able to write anything in Haskell until I read the Haskell 98 report and learned how to use braces and semicolons (and this was my last attempt before just leaving the language). After you learn it, using layout becomes a lot easier, and the whole language makes a lot more sense. If you wan't to start a page in Haskell wiki with a reference to layout-free Haskell syntax I would be happy to contribute. Best, Maurício