More economical but only by a by then unnoticeable amount, as you say.  It is only the thought that ordinary users may have to change to a system that looks in any sense different (within the next 20 years or so) that frightens the millions, and their support staff: thus use of such language would perhaps be best avoided?

Comments from others please.

Chris

Sent from a bar . . . maybe an iBar.

On 18 Jul 2013, at 18:45, iPad Mittelbach <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

> I can't see anything worrying in that statement. What has developed so far for L3 nicely enough runs on top of a 2e format but the more it becomes complete the more will be the  two centuries of plain TeX + LaTeX 2.09 + 2e code in the current format become a burden.
> 
> And as a result there may be a point when it will be more economical to drop that format (and perhaps support certain 2e code as a package).
> 
> Whether the new thing is then a format in the old sense or something that is loaded (like it is now into 2e) remains to be seen. So in that sense it might be not a "format" because these days the loading part is not really taking that long any more.
> 
> Frank
> 
> ... written on the iPad but not from an iBar
> 
> Am 18.07.2013 um 16:56 schrieb Chris Rowley <[log in to unmask]>:
> 
>> Joseph
>> 
>>>> Until we actually have the basics of a new format, 
>> 
>> A new format???
>> 
>> That sounds worrying as I am passing the message to the million+ everyday users of LaTeX that there will never again be a need for different 'formats' with all its technical and sociological problems, primarily because they are handy only for last century's technology levels.
>> 
>> So I hope we can have a consistent message on this.
>> 
>> Chris
>> 
>> 
>> PSent from a bar . . . maybe an iBar.
>>