misfeature

/misfeechr/ , /misfee`chr/ , n. [common] A feature that eventually causes
lossage, possibly because it is not adequate for a new situation that has
evolved. Since it results from a deliberate and properly implemented
feature, a misfeature is not a bug. Nor is it a simple unforeseen side
effect; the term implies that the feature in question was carefully planned,
but its long-term consequences were not accurately or adequately predicted
(which is quite different from not having thought ahead at all). A
misfeature can be a particularly stubborn problem to resolve, because fixing
it usually involves a substantial philosophical change to the structure of
the system involved. Many misfeatures (especially in user-interface design)
arise because the designers/implementors mistake their personal tastes for
laws of nature. Often a former feature becomes a misfeature because
trade-offs were made whose parameters subsequently change (possibly only in
the judgment of the implementors). Well, yeah, it is kind of a misfeature
that file names are limited to six characters, but the original implementors
wanted to save directory space and we're stuck with it for now.

