Yeah, design by committee isn't a bad thing. See e.g. Common Lisp which, being defined by an ANSI standard, shows how great things can be when you have a committee made of smart people who inform their work by carefully evaluating what other smart people before them tested in the field.
It's a useful feature to have, as it makes Lisp reader more flexible. See the summary of the discussion by the committee here: http://clhs.lisp.se/Issues/iss286_w.htm.
