On Mon, Jun 7, 2010 at 6:23 AM, Roan Kattouw <roan.katt...@gmail.com> wrote: > Chad <innocentkil...@...> writes: >> I'd like to touch on this one particular point. The community HAS spoken >> and clearly wants it back the way it was. A volunteer even did so [0] but >> was reverted [1] with the message that UI changes to Vector are off-limits >> without some sort of prior discussion and approval. >> >> This sits with me _very_ badly. I don't disagree (in principle) that changes >> to >> our user experience should be discussed and not implemented via fiat. But >> when you've got overwhelming consensus that this is the right course of >> action, reverting the change and declaring it off-limits to our committers >> is just wrong. Our volunteer developers do a pretty good job of judging and >> implementing community consensus, and saying that some things aren't >> negotiable sets a bad precedence. >> > I completely agree with this. Although the people that made and executed this > decision are my friends and coworkers, I increasingly feel the need to call > them > out on this particular action. We, the usability team, exist to improve the > appearance and usability of the site, not to own or monopolize these topics. > This revert, particularly the tone (and, to a lesser degree, the substance) of > the revert summary, sends the message that we do in fact claim that monopoly; > that any decision about usability goes through us; that "our" code is a sacred > work that may only be touched with prior approval of a staff member, and that > any mortal who dares violate these sacred commandments will experience the > Wrath > of the Immediate Revert.
I will say to be fair that the best response to what you perceive as a poor design choice in somebody else's code is not to revert them and say "There, I fixed it for you. Thank me later.", but perhaps to discuss it with them first and find a compromise. There's an imperative to listen and respond to community feedback, but quietly changing somebody else's code against their explicit wishes is not a good way to make your point. -- Andrew Garrett http://werdn.us/ _______________________________________________ foundation-l mailing list foundation-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/foundation-l