While I appreciate the OP's position, I suggest the preference of forgiveness over permission is highly contextual. If you're working on a social networking we

While I appreciate the OP's position, I suggest the preference of forgiveness over permission is highly contextual. If you're working on a social networking web site, certainly, move fast and break things. But if you're working on a nuclear launch control system, you probably want to model a "don't launch until authorized" control system instead of a "launch unless told not to" system. That being said... I've used this technique in larger collaborative projects: "If we don't come to agreement by <date>, I'm going with the default choice that may not be optimal for everyone. (i.e.- don't waste time suggesting your alternatives.)" In my younger days I thought you needed to have a horrible default, but that only works a few times before your collaborators think they're just better off without you.