September 2025 - ghc-steering-committee

The role of the shepherd
by Simon Peyton Jones 12 May '26

12 May '26

Friends I have realised, rather belatedly, that we don't actually have any written guidance for shepherds of GHC proposals, so we all have to make it up as we go along. Perhaps it'd be helpful to have some. Here's a start. The shepherd does these things: - Makes a recommendation to the committee for whether to accept, reject, or send back for revision, within a week of being appointed. - Actively guide the committee's discussion. - Maintain a list of votes on this spreadsheet <https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1e6GdwHmAjeDEUhTvP-b18MDkpTfH3SMHhFu…> . - Actively facilitate the committee discussion, guiding us towards a decision, within the published time frame of 4-5 weeks. - Summarise the committee's thinking for the author's benefit, and work with the author on next steps -- this may often take the form of revisions to the proposal. - - Remind members (by name, not just general exhortation) who are silent that they are highly encouraged to contribute. - If the discussion does not converge within 4-5 weeks, take action to consult the chair, vice-chair, or secretary to decide what to do. It's much more than "make a recommendation and wait". Being a member of the GHC Steering Committee is a real service to the community. But of course we all have day jobs, and so not everything happens as we hope. Any thoughts? Simon

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Qualified *
by Erik de Castro Lopo 14 Oct '25

14 Oct '25

Dear Committee, The original Qualified Literals proposal [1] has been split into 3 separate proposals: * Qualfied Strings [2] * Qualified Numerics [3] * Qualified Lists [4] Since this proposal has already been open for so long and had so much discussion, I have recommened that the committee reaches a decision by Oct 7. I had a few minor reservations about Numerics and Lists, mainly about the fact that there are still options on how they would be implemented but have recommended all 3 are accepted. Thanks, Erik [1] https://github.com/ghc-proposals/ghc-proposals/pull/698 [2] https://github.com/ghc-proposals/ghc-proposals/pull/723 [3] https://github.com/ghc-proposals/ghc-proposals/pull/724 [4] https://github.com/ghc-proposals/ghc-proposals/pull/725 -- ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Erik de Castro Lopo http://www.mega-nerd.com/

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Qualified literals
by Simon Peyton Jones 17 Sep '25

17 Sep '25

Dear Simon, Jakob, Malte, Moritz, Matthias As you will know, there has been quite a bit of discussion around the GHC proposal for Qualified Literals. But (unless I have missed your contributions) you have not yet contributed to the discussion. As a member of the GHC Steering Committee, especially when there are tricky judgement calls to make (as in this case) I would really appreciate your input. - Discussion <https://github.com/ghc-proposals/ghc-proposals/pull/698> - Proposal <https://github.com/brandonchinn178/ghc-proposals/blob/qualified-strings/pro…> Brandon has now split his proposal into three. I have outlined options in this comment <https://github.com/ghc-proposals/ghc-proposals/pull/698#issuecomment-326958…> . I feel that we owe the proposer some guidance on the way forward, and we can only do that if we all pay attention, rather than leaving it to Sebastian. (Thanks Sebastian!) thank you! Simon

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Please review #681: Updates to modifiers proposal
by Adam Gundry 09 Sep '25

09 Sep '25

Dear Committee, Phil Hazelden proposes to amend the Modifiers proposal based on experience with the implementation: https://github.com/ghc-proposals/ghc-proposals/pull/681 I'd like to nominate Matthías as the shepherd. Please guide us to a conclusion as outlined in https://github.com/ghc-proposals/ghc-proposals/blob/master/README.rst#commi…. If possible, please aim to make a recommendation by 23rd September 2025. Cheers, Adam -- Adam Gundry, Haskell Consultant Well-Typed LLP, https://www.well-typed.com/ Registered in England & Wales, OC335890 27 Old Gloucester Street, London WC1N 3AX, England

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Please review #698: Qualified Literals
by Adam Gundry 08 Sep '25

08 Sep '25

Dear Committee, Brandon Chinn proposes to introduce new extensions for qualified number, string and list literals: https://github.com/ghc-proposals/ghc-proposals/pull/698 https://github.com/brandonchinn178/ghc-proposals/blob/qualified-literals/pr… I'd like to nominate Erik as the shepherd. Please guide us to a conclusion as outlined in https://github.com/ghc-proposals/ghc-proposals/blob/master/README.rst#commi… (thanks Sebastian for pointing out the previously broken link) Cheers, Adam -- Adam Gundry, Haskell Consultant Well-Typed LLP, https://www.well-typed.com/ Registered in England & Wales, OC335890 27 Old Gloucester Street, London WC1N 3AX, England

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