As far as I can tell, the problem of systematically poor string management adversely affecting UX has not been widely recognized in the Drupal community. That may be about to change.

Coincidentally, a day or so after I posted this article that describes my alternative to the t() function, a discussion was begun on Drupal.org that made me think the community is ripe for tackling this topic.

So far, some aspects of the discussion boil down to the definition of simplicity. From that perspective, I’m sensing that there is a tension around who gets to have a ‘simple’ experience. But is it really a matter of developer experience vs. user experience (DX vs. UX)?

While it's true that what is simple for developers often yields the opposite for end users, does it have to be that providing an optimal UX is painful for developers? Not necessarily, if the right architectural solutions can be found and developers are willing to adapt. Good architecture and coding practices can make things simpler for developers. But it is important to weigh the usability factors into the design process.

From a technical point of view, the bottom line for me is that embedded UI strings in code are really no different from embedded JavaScript in HTML. This was a common practice not that long ago but thankfully we have passed that point in the evolution of good coding practices. Getting rid of this practice has help developers achieve more elegant and maintainable code and has opened up a wealth of new UX possiblities. And you can say exactly the same thing about embedded styles.

Hopefully the discussion will ultimately orient around finding the right solution that can meet the challenging technical requirements and can enhance the overall level of usability in Drupal. But realistically I don't think the UX component will be on the front burner until there is wider recognition that systematically good string management can have a hugely positive effect on User Experience.