> no builtin list type

Wait, which thing do you mean by a "list type" ? A growable array type like Rust's Vec<T> or C++ std::vector<T> or the ArrayList type seen in several languages ?

Or do you mean a linked list type akin to C++ std::list or std::forward_list or Rust's std::collections::LinkedList ?

"List" is vague, which is appropriate if you're talking about very high level abstractions where it doesn't matter how it works and 5 gigabytes, 5 bits, 5 weeks or 5 seconds are all finite so who cares - but in the real world we usually do care.

Yeah, I really don't see much of a reason for Go to get a first-party linked list type. In most cases in non-list-oriented languages the performance and ergonomics are awful compared to a competent growable array type, the mechanical sympathy of "real" linked lists is generally terrible.

Plus they're extremely easy to build if you truly have a good use for one, particularly with generics.