One aspect of this overloading is that it's trying to handle arbitrary file formats and codecs as well.
load %whatever.png
So although I said LOAD should always return a BLOCK! that would be understood here to mean well, at least LOAD of 'rebol code should always return a BLOCK!.
TRANSCODE is now easy to use. It handles TEXT! as well as BINARY! (as TEXT! is also UTF-8 underlying):
>> transcode "a <b> 10"
== [a <b> 10]
>> [rest value]: transcode/next "a <b> 10"
== " <b> 10"
>> value
== a
But even if /ALL goes away, there's always going to be parameterization settings to the underlying "codec" that powers generic loading. Does the code-loading "codec" have options? I think it should...policies like allowing or disallowing CR/LF or tabs, etc. Compatibility options, like BINARY! as #{...} instead of &{...}.
So is there a hard and fast reason why there wouldn't be an option of "load just one value?" in the "code-loading codec"?
...I think it's something that is probably not worth it to include. But just wanted to point out that LOAD is theorized to do much more, and parameterization will be necessary.