While the link focuses on Ruby, I think there's a more general reason (which also explains why more languages don't support a lisp-like macro): cooperative deve

While the link focuses on Ruby, I think there's a more general reason (which also explains why more languages don't support a lisp-like macro): cooperative development. When you're writing code in a vacuum, you can fill it with all the metaprogramming you want. You probably have some preferred style, and your metaprogramming will reflect that. In something like lisp, this gets taken to the extreme -- code can look very different from what traditional lisp looks like when there are macros involved. While this is great for developing solo, or with a small group, it becomes too much to handle as more people onboard. Every new contributor needs to learn your particular style, and how your macros work, and then how to apply them effectively. Its much easier when new functionality and expressiveness is added through a common format (like adding a new method). As a lisp fan, those methods feel clumsy to me. But if you want to do something that's so big you need more contributors, it's worth the tradeoff.