I think that by applying basic engineering techniques like user testing we can weed out
ideologies that don't provide any value to users. Do the testing and let the results
decide.The principles of ISO 9000 can be applied to improve products. There are also
metrics that can measure how good a user interface is, like how many clicks does it take
to perform a specific task. If these kinds of techniques were being applied to Gnome,
we'd be able to more impartially measure how good Gnome is and also improve it.
We'd be able to make more informed decisions and get better results. And if the Gnome
guys actually had information like this, they'd be forced to deal with it. Maybe
they'd be forced to admit that they care more about their ideology than helping their
users be more productive. Or maybe the results would support the Gnome ideology. Until
someone takes a scientific/engineering approach to measuring it, the issue can't
really be resolved.
My problem with Gnome is that they just do whatever they feel like instead of applying
well-established engineering or software engineering quality processes.