[drupal-devel] Let's accept more interim solutions

[Nedjo Rogers]

I'm thinking we should give more room in Drupal to accepting and applying
"interim" solutions: contributions that are clear improvements without
necessarily addressing every conceivable objection.

The high threshold we set for accepting changes has definite benefits--it
keeps the code clean and functional.  Yet, if the bar is too high, it also
has significant costs.  It discourages developers and wastes development
time and expertise on repeated updating.  And, equally importantly, it
leaves problems unaddressed.

I feel we need to give more weight to the question: what are the costs of
doing nothing?  Often, these are significant enough to justify implementing
a partial or interim solution.

Many problems don't lend themselves to full and immediate solution.  Rather,
building a solution is an iterative process.  Applying more 'first steps' is
a spur to the development process.  It keeps developers engaged and builds
momentum for fixing remaining details.

In sum: let's be a bit less conservative, a bit more open to new ideas as
they come in.  There's nothing sacred about the code base.  It's something
we collectively build, fixing problems, opening new possibilities (complete
with their own issues and problems), moving beyond the limitations of the
inception while staying true to the founding goals and vision.

Nedjo