Obviously, views on casework differ; I have no difficulty cutting tube holes - in 1/4" aluminum - with a hole saw and a hand-held electric drill, and I still maintain that anyone scared of working with metal might just as well use a plastic enclosure and ignore the paranoid hype about RF/EM shielding.
Regardless, I think that people should be enthused about a design - should want to
build a design - because it sounds good, not because it looks pretty.
Cfcubed said "Of course, if a design has PCB landings for jacks, pots, etc. this does not mean builders have to use them", and that's true, as far as it goes - but, given that board space always seems to be at a premium, I can't help but wonder what better use the space allocated to these sorts of things could be put to. Some things - caps, resistors, diodes, ICs - basically
have to be mounted on the board. IMO, those that
don't have to be - jacks, pots, switches, whatever -
shouldn't be. If people want to put them in what you consider the "obvious" or "logical" spots, then unless we're dealing with portable devices made to cram into the smallest possible enclosure, there's really no reason they can't panel-mount them in the "right" spot and have them up above the board; a mere 5mm is enough to clear resistors, diodes, et cetera with room to spare... Off-board components = more
usable (or less
wasted) board space = more (or better) features = a win-win situation for everyone.
nsx: That's my point; if you want to give people the whole enchilada, a la Heathkit, then plan from the outset to make complete kits. If not, make projects with enough flexibility to accommodate even those of you in the most outlying areas of the Empire.
(I referred before to "future-proofing" of designs, but I think I'll start promoting the plight of you folks down under and use the term "Australia-proofing" instead.
) If people didn't keep designing PCBs with the Alps pots right onboard, you - as an example - could just use whatever stereo pot you could find (or get a $20 stepped attenuator off a Hong Kong seller on eBay), wire it up, and get on with life. I mean, there
are pots, switches, jacks, and so on, available in Australia, and just about everywhere else in the world; that they aren't readily, or easily, usable is only because PCB designs are habitually - and for no good reason - inflexible, due to (mis-)design...