misfeature

Misfeature \Mis*fea"ture\, n.
   Ill feature. [R.] --Keats.
   [1913 Webster]
    

misfeature
 /mis.fee'chr/, /mis'fee`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."
    

misfeature

   /mis-fee'chr/ or /mis'fee"chr/ 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."