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For an online issue tracker of a programming language, which takes community suggestions, I need a one to three word 'label' to mark suggestions and proposals which the core design and development team have decided not to implement or address, both currently, and most likely in the near and far future as well.

The current label is "Declined". However, I have expressed that I find it inappropriate for several reasons:

  • It excessively highlights the particular issuer and their personal appeal rather than the idea or concept at hand, which may be more general than the one as presented.

  • Not all community suggestions are actual 'proposals'. Some are simply expressions of needs or reports of particular problems with only a vague idea of the desired resolution provided. It is also very common that the proposed solution is not very well-researched or engineered.

  • Too "final" and "verdict-like". Doesn't leave enough room for future reconsideration.

  • It doesn't feel very friendly and creates a somewhat harsh atmosphere.

Finding an alternative term turned out to be very hard. My initial instinct was "Unplanned", however it was seen as ambiguous as it may also be read as "Unscheduled". The ideal term, unlike "Unplanned", should be strictly and unambiguously read as "Not intended or likely to happen" rather than "Not set on if or when it is likely to happen".

Most reasonable options so far:

  1. "No Foreseeable Plans" (inspired by some of the commentary here - best one so far, I think).

  2. "No Prospective Plans" (seems close so far in terms of capturing the intended semantics, but I believe there could be a more 'elegant' and/or shorter way to express this)

  3. "No Prospective Intentions" (another one that's quite good in terms of semantics but just doesn't feel "elegant" enough to me)

  4. "Not Currently Planned" (could still be misinterpreted as "Not Currently Scheduled")

  5. "No Future Plans" (too vague)

  6. "No Design Team Interest" (too long, somewhat different semantically than the previous ones)

  7. "No Design Team Approval" (too long, not that different from "Declined")

Any better ideas?

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  • As it is hard to merge the declined and unplanned senses in a single expression, consider "rejected or non-scheduled".
    – Graffito
    Commented Apr 15, 2016 at 12:59
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    No plans as of now
    – Nagarajan Shanmuganathan
    Commented Apr 15, 2016 at 13:06
  • @Graffito The goal here is to find a way to somehow express that there are no (or at least there are no 'likely') future intentions to do or address something, but at the same time not necessarily express the suggestion as being "rejected" or "dismissed", say, on the basis of being invalid or unworthy.
    – Anon2000
    Commented Apr 15, 2016 at 13:11
  • But please, don’t ask any questions about the following topics. They are out of scope for this site. Naming, including naming programming variables/classes see english.stackexchange.com/help/on-topic
    – TrevorD
    Commented Apr 15, 2016 at 13:17
  • @NagarajanShanmuganathan The intention is actually to express something stronger, like "No plans as of never". Perhaps even stronger than No Prospective Plans (which does seem reasonable to me but I guess my goal is to find something that's even more suitable or shorter).
    – Anon2000
    Commented Apr 15, 2016 at 13:20

4 Answers 4

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Your question states that the proposals in question are unlikely to be implemented, not that they will definitely never be implemented, leaving the possibility that the proposals will be revisited one day. In that case I would consider "shelved" or "on the shelf", both of which imply that the suggestion/request has been put to one side but may, possibly, one day be re-evaluated.

It is a literal evaluation with putting something away on a shelf where it's not being used but can be retrieved at a later date.

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  • No Foreseeable Plans could be very close to what I'm looking for. I will edit the original question to add it. Actually, I originally did want to include cases where it is strictly "never" going to be implemented, say, because it is somehow flawed or lacking, but now I realize I may need to split to a different label in that case. I'm not sure if "shelved" would feel formal enough here, this is for a relatively large project by a very large and well-known company.
    – Anon2000
    Commented Apr 15, 2016 at 14:35
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    @Anon2000 - "shelve" for putting aside is used in Microsoft Visual Studio, which is a pretty big, formal project all by itself, and by a well-known company to boot :-)
    – Spratty
    Commented Apr 15, 2016 at 14:51
  • Incidentally, the "big company" I referred to happens to be the same as the one you mentioned :). Anyway, I was trying to capture a case where something is in practice "declined" but still allow for some possibility of it being resurrected, but on the other hand not to give a false hope it is "suspended" or "deferred" in some way, and at the same time to make sure not to imply that the idea is necessarily "bad" or flawed (although it may be, but that can be covered by another label).
    – Anon2000
    Commented Apr 15, 2016 at 15:03
  • Isn't coincidence a wonderful thing? :-) I've been racking my mind for an alternative to "shelve" or "shelved" but with no great success so far, so I'll have to leave it to someone else to come up with a better answer. Good luck!
    – Spratty
    Commented Apr 15, 2016 at 15:06
  • They actually have a different existing term for that: "Revisit", and I'm also looking for better alternatives as it is very ambiguous, as it could also mean that it is something that has been "revisited" in the sense of being "re-evaluated". Best ones so far: "For Future Review", "For Future Consideration" but there might be better ones.
    – Anon2000
    Commented Apr 15, 2016 at 15:12
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How about turned down?

It implies you fully considered their proposal but decided not to pursue it.

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  • This is not for a program but for an online website where people can make suggestions and proposals. I'm looking for a label to use when tagging them. There is no special connection to technology or computers here. "Outside Scope" actually matches another label that's used for a different purpose (it is called "Out Of Scope").
    – Anon2000
    Commented Apr 15, 2016 at 13:24
  • @Anon2000 updated answer
    – SGR
    Commented Apr 15, 2016 at 13:29
  • "Turned Down" is closer to "Declined". I agree it sounds a bit more friendly but the need is for something more formal which targets the content of the suggestion rather than the particular instance of who requested it and how it was presented. The phrases "No Prospective Plans", and "No Prospective Intentions" are very, very close to what I'm looking for in terms of semantics. But they just don't feel "good enough"..
    – Anon2000
    Commented Apr 15, 2016 at 13:40
  • Do you have the means to comment on a users proposal while Rejecting/Accepting it? Because what you're describing is almost impossible to do, completely reject something without making the user think you've completely rejected it in one word. What you may need to do is have flag such as 'See response' then leave a comment on their file explaining that you have no current plans to follow the proposal.
    – SGR
    Commented Apr 15, 2016 at 13:43
  • Yes, there is a detailed discussion and interaction in each issue. This is actually for a high traffic project run by a very well-known company and hosted on GitHub. I have volunteered to help them improve the labels they use for suggestions. Out of about 20 I've worked on so far, this one turned out to be the hardest.
    – Anon2000
    Commented Apr 15, 2016 at 13:47
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Taken as information denotes that you have received and read but will be taking no further action.

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  • Thanks, interesting direction! I will consider this, also perhaps as inspiration to improve other labels or for a new label for more specific scenarios. The intended purpose here is that this should be also be inclusive to actual proposals (as of specifications - although in a way they can also be taken as information). This feels a bit too 'indirect' for general use, but I will definitely keep it in mind.
    – Anon2000
    Commented Apr 15, 2016 at 14:15
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As a less "final" term to use in place of declined, you may consider tabled.

: to remove (as a parliamentary motion) from consideration indefinitely
Merriam-Webster

In meetings, issues may get tabled when the committee does not want to consider it. The issue may never be raised again (but the possibility that it may still exists).

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  • Worth noting that British English uses tabled to mean put on the table for consideration, not removing it from consideration. The equivalent BrE term for indefinite suspension is shelved.
    – Andrew Leach ♦
    Commented Apr 15, 2016 at 19:55
  • @AndrewLeach: Yes, given in Spratty's answer.
    – jxh
    Commented Apr 15, 2016 at 20:41

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