Re: [Haskell-cafe] an idea for modifiyng data/newtype syntax: use `::=` instead of `=`

One moment, please, the good reason has been provided -- newbie confusion.

I'm really happy that we are at the stage when this is considered an important source of newbie confusion in Haskell.

So, in the end, the idea will probably be shot down -- but please, let's shoot it down for a good reason, with a clear, irrefutable understanding of why.

The reason is very simple, and it was stated several times already: it will break everything that was written so far, and there is not enough evidence that things would be even a little better. In fact, moving to dynamic typing would a) break less existing code (could be none, if done carefully), and b) remove A LOT of newbie confusion, but for some reason I don't think it's a good idea either.