As Watermom said you can easily vacuum while in it. However, at the ends of the season, when trees are dumping stuff, you may turn a nice shade of blue if the water is cold. So.....I didn't mention it before but I will now. If I ever build a new pool, or do major replumbing, I think I would make some contraption that drops in the deep end on a hose that would act as a main drain. Idea would be to leave it in but pull it out when swimming. Valving would be like a normal main drain. That is be able to switch betwern skimmer and MD or any combination of the two. With a little ingenuity, PVC, and a drill press, you could drill a bunch of small holes (1/4" or less) on one side of a PVC pipe, manifold a few of these together to distribute the suction over a couple square feet, hook a hose to it and drop it on the bottom with the holes down. Wouldn't be as pretty as a built in drain but it should work the same way. If it's left in when swimming then the suction concerns for long hair would have to be addressed. No big deal, just distribute the suction over a large enough area.
I've rambled enough for one night.
Al