Abstract: I discuss how to combine the physical constraints, in particular the operator product expansion for Wilson loops, with the technical power of the "symbol" of pure transcendental functions. The combination can be used to evaluate the (symbol for the) Wilson loop corresponding to the scattering amplitude for six (MHV) gluons in planar N=4 super-Yang-Mills theory through three loops, for general kinematics, up to a few constants. The multi-Regge limit of high-energy scattering can also be extracted easily from the symbol. In this limit the full functional dependence is known, up to a few constants. The results are consistent with earlier predictions, but also provided new, subleading and subsubleading logarithmic information. No loop integrands or loop integrals are required in this approach.