In reply to Jimmy Smutek.

I read Morton's comment and got the feeling that he was touching on an issue that I've struggled with at times using WordPress. It's not about the changes that development brings to the platform that people need to be more aware of, regardless of their overall interest in the software versus their interest in the things the software allows them to do. I don't think it's helpful to anyone to pit the process against the product like that.

We all know that some changes in WordPress affect users at different rates. The recent removal of title text from the link editor is a great example alongside some sort of security or minor bug fix.

The average WP user can continue about their business without ever knowing that there was a bug or security issue and that said bug or security issue has been fixed. Most didn't even notice the minor tweaks of the admin color scheme recently, which was more visual and kind of obvious. Those aren't the kind of updates that are going to cause concern for the average user. And keep in mind that most minor bug and security issues affect a very small percentage of users and does not fit within the definition of average.

The link editor change was caught by any user that uses links within their posts and pages, and many aren't likely to follow developmental discussions at any level on the subject. Yet they were forced to change because what they knew was simply gone. It's those kind of changes that need more noise before implementation. Overall, the link editor update was minor and easily overcome for the average user, but it merely demonstrates a point.

Personally, I don't like the Customizer in WordPress. Sarah noted in her article about Ryan saying it should scale to large screens. I develop on a PC so that thing is troublesome for me. I also have the theme editor on Tumblr to compare it to and, while Tumblr hasn't gotten it right yet, Tumblr is leaps and bounds ahead of WordPress with their live previewing editor.

A slower timeline makes sense for average users, a spectrum which I consider myself at the high-end of. Having both the Appearance -> Menus screen and the Menu Customizer available for a good long while is probably the smartest way to go since it affords everyone the chance to use it and learn it, WordPress Developers the opportunity to work on the Customizer and make it more appealing/usable for the wider range of users, and ultimately offers all users an option between live preview menu creation and robust menu administration, of which there will be a substantial base of users preferring each option for as long as both options are available.

At some point it'll have to come down to the fact that on the whole, users will split between each method of menu management as long as there are two options available. But that should be incentive to convert users from the old to the new with ingenuity and rich features, rather than cutting them off because some feel it's wasted effort on an obsolete product.

This probably wasn't your point, but my take on it is that we need to prioritize the information that average users are exposed to and concentrate efforts toward avenues that maximize exposure, even to the most "cosmopolitan" of WordPress users. One solid and mainstream public debate on the subject would be a great start....