Macros are a Menace

Dan Weinreb invited me to hold the "macros are bad" side of a debate held at the 2009 International Lisp Conference in Boston. My backup was Richard Gabriel. Opposing me was Pascal Costanza, with Guy Steele as his backup. Dan Weinreb was moderating, although his facade of neutrality cracked pretty fast and he wound up backing up Pascal as well. (As did the rest of the audience. Lion's den and all that.) I think people enjoyed my talk, even if they didn't agree with it. And the panel session afterward was entertaining, if not particularly illuminating.