It has indeed. You might try doing a search (right-click on "Search" in the blue bar above, select this forum to be searched, and the words "points" and "miles") which should bring up a selection of the threads.

Bottom line, though, is that most feel if you're going to be staying frequently at Marriott properties, collecting points makes more sense than collecting miles, because once you collect a large amount of points (>100,000), you can redeem for package deals where you get more miles with the award than you'd earn getting miles instead of points for the stays.

Additionally, if you collect points, there are numerous promotions that you can take advantage of to increase your points (currently a 5,000 bonus points for every third stay promotion), while if you collect miles you seldom seem to qualify for additional miles via a promotion.

There are also additional ways to earn points by getting and using a Marriott Rewards VISA card.