Mystery

Why is GNOME so prone to problems like this? It's easy to see the contempt, but is it a product of the structure of the organization, or is it traceable to one or a few individuals, or is the project in the grip of poisonous ideology, or groupthink, or corporate meddling?

This is not meant to be provocative, I really would welcome insightful analysis. If the root of the problem can be identified clearly enough, it should be fixable. So much good code has come out of the GNOME effort, and so many very smart people are involved, it feels absurd to see its typical response to minor problems so frequently make the user experience measurably worse.

Unobtrusive non-functional graphical elements can be found in every app. They rarely cause confusion. Designers have a wide range of techniques available to suggest non-functionality, including muted contrast, indefinite boundaries, transparency, and off-center placement.

Why does GNOME find it so hard to apply simple, well-known, mature techniques in its products? This is not a rhetorical question. I ask in all sincerity.