Well, I did not want to start a war here, although I expected it
.
I certainly do NOT advocate all these 'gates' being published (heaven's sake, we have enough to master with all the stuff across the world that IS published
), but could it all not be sorted out if the 'target' were given in the clearance - ie 'descend FL140, be level 40 before POL' rather than just 'descend FL170' then' 'you have to be blah blah' as I drift economically down in blissful ignorance? Overall that would be less R/T time, and far more 'controlled'. Some sectors worldwide are better than others.
You guys and girls can have as many 'gates' as you wish between sectors - I would suggest that if a particular gate is really MUCH lower than the logical 'economical' level it would be helpful to publish it so the plate publishers can put it on a STAR plate, and planning departments can adjust the fuel burns accordingly. After some time we now have the 'FL200 25 before TNT' on the MAN Dayne Star. That helps.