Comment by haswell

I fully agree about the potential for bad faith interpretations of Chesterson’s fence, and I’ve encountered them a lot.

But regarding edge cases, I’ve come to see that type of person in a different light. The way I see it, edge cases pressure test the design. Some edge cases we just don’t care about, and when someone raises them, we put them on a published list of non-goals. This acknowledges that they exist and shuts down future naysayers. But sometimes an edge case ends up mattering a lot; enough to change the direction of the design. And for that reason, I welcome the edge case hunters. If managed, it becomes a valuable source of feedback and strengthens the overall design.

But to your point, this type of individual can sidetrack the team if not managed. Having processes in place and tactics to incorporate the concern without getting stuck on it is critical, and not always easy.

In this regard, I think it’s a bit different than the fence. The fence is a barrier that already exists, while the pessimistic edge case finder is trying to build fences that don’t yet exist.