Fine, then YOU write the PHP code to do it and remember to update that code every time the BBS software is upgraded.

(Sorry, I just spend my work days trying to beat down frivolous feature requests from upper management who have no idea what it takes to implement the features...)

On the other side of this coin is "asking management for features" and having them tell you "every time someone complains, it will be your problem". Well, that's fine, but if you want to delegate management responsibility to me, I get to decide when to fix it and when to tell them what they're doing is broken and we're sorry. Like, if you tell me that "DNS names are case insensitive and we'll keep doing them in uppercase and it's up to you to deal with this Java problem which we can't fix because we don't have source for it by breaking your software in ways which are not codified into the standards" then why should I take you seriously when you say "well, they're case insensitive, but changing it might screw someone else and we can't do that". Pick one stance, and stick with it.

Of course, instead the stuff simply never gets done, and I just hate more and more of the people who work at a level above me and are not my superior but lead other groups.

One once commented in the bathroom, and I overheard... "Can't get any two people to work together on anything."

I went to his office a bit later and told him that the people at my level were mostly fine to work with; Sometimes I disagree with their ideas, and sometimes they mine, but we put it all together and make it work. It's only when dealing with the people at his level, the people who are interested in playging politics, when things break down.

I want to do X. X is doable. X can be made doable by me but that isn't my job. I would get in trouble for fixing things so I can do X, and due to turf wars getting someone else to do it is hard. Where of course by hard I mean "not bloody likely".

I understand management is necessary, useful, all that. Stop playing games, and let's get stuff done, if you don't want to get stuff done, fine, stay out of the way of the people who are doing the stuff and play politics with each other, not us.

I can outbitter you any day. Bring it on.