I find it amusing that, on the PHP internals mailing list, RFCs will be heavily "debated" (i.e., argued) about, and you'd think from reading it everyone hates something.
Then it comes to vote and >90% vote for it, usually :)
You misunderstand how the list works :) If people discuss small details of it passionately, that means they care about the big concept enough that they want to get the details right. If they hated the whole idea, most people would just say "it doesn't make sense" and move on, and there would be 2-3 people discussing something irrelevant until the thread dies off. That happens too, but arguing about a feature doesn't mean people hate it. More often than not it means people are interested in it.
Everything should be debated. It ensures that you get the best possible product. We may agree on something, but if no opposing views are given, how do we know it's the best?
You'd understand what I was on about if you read the PHP internals mailing list - the same points are argued to death; instead of a good discussion, it becomes a huge argument.
Debate isn't always about arguing your side. Sometimes it's about making sure all the sides are argued so that you can know you're going the right direction.
Then it comes to vote and >90% vote for it, usually :)