color of the bikeshed
The color of the bikeshed is a proverbial phrase referring to the apparent ease with which one can get approval for building a large and complex project (such as a billion-dollar laboratory) compared to the difficulty of reaching consensus to build something conceptually simple — because everyone involved wants to add their own opinion.
This expression of the idea was explained by C. Northcote Parkinson in his spoof of management, Parkinson's Law (1957).
Explanation
A major laboratory is so vastly expensive and complicated that people cannot understand it, so they assume that those working on it understand it. On the other hand, everyone understands a bikeshed, so building one results in endless discussions: everyone involved wants to add his touch and show that he is there.
The phrase has often been quoted in collaborative settings such as wikis and open source software projects, where "the bikeshed problem" is apparent. People stay quiet on technical issues, but when an issue like indentation formatting or naming conventions arises, everyone has an opinion.
Repopularization
The concept was repopularized by a 1999 email post by Poul-Henning Kamp to the FreeBSD development mailing list. Color was not featured as an argument in Parkinson's original example.
References
- "Why Should I Care What Color the Bikeshed Is?" (FreeBSD FAQ)
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