That the compiler will be slower can be used as an argument against any new language feature. Slightly slower would, I think, still mesh with their design goals

That the compiler will be slower can be used as an argument against any new language feature. Slightly slower would, I think, still mesh with their design goals. But slower, and the amount of slowdown is a function of the number generics used in a module, or in a total application, might not mesh with their goal. Basically, I'm saying that if we're going to talk about compiler performance - and we should, since as you point out, it is a design goal of Go - we need to be a bit more concrete. Based on everything I know about Go's goals, they would be particularly worried about solutions that don't scale.