> Discussing the merits of the feature from a > functionality standpoint isn't really what's needed > here. The justification for the feature was that > people wanted it.
What is discouraging is that it apparently is the only justification that is needed. This kind of thinking has seemed to increasingly pervade Coda in recent years. Development seems to have been turned over entirely to marketing and the lowest common denominator of demand. There is no longer an independent standard of excellence toward which to strive and of which to be proud. It is the equivalent of politicians giving up principles by which to govern in favor of making decisions according to the polls. Of course, in business there must be fiscal responsibility, but that is still possible without abandoning a vision of excellence entirely. For me the evidence of this trend is in the lists of out-and-out bugs, at least some of which must have rather simple solutions, but which are passed over in favor of flashy and demanded features. (my most often-cursed example is the rubber handles on expressions in staffs that have been reduced. This one was fixed at one time only to re-emerge.) The software writers working on new features know very well that the old bugs are still there. They have daily reminders that quality control is not valued as highly as it might be. This seems to me to be a recipe for more sloppiness and the introduction of more errors with an eventual slide into mediocrity or worse. Richard Yates _______________________________________________ Finale mailing list Finale@shsu.edu http://lists.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale
