I'd be in his position I'd would too ask to see some code or at least some data analysis supporting the design. You can't just propose stuff and expect the people reviewing it to do all the leg work. An implementation at least proves your design is conceptually sound. It's easy to forget certain aspects when you theorycraft, and having to implement at least the PoC certainly motivates you to keep it as simple as possible.
Not sure to which extent this is criticism to me. But I believe everyone has a part to play in this world, and should be doing what he's best at. My comparative advantage is in coming up with ideas and discussing them; and in unrelated work (to those who don't know me, my day "job" is in promoting Bitcoin in Israel). It's not in coding and empirical analysis - I'll leave that to others. This methodology worked quite well at the time I helped mining pool operators with implementing DGM. Perhaps the discussion I've started will result in this or a similar idea being implemented and accepted. But if not, so be it.
I'll clarify that I think Gavin's request is perfectly legitimate. I didn't exactly expect him to be so dazzled by the idea that he'd drop everything he was doing and start working on it.