Comment 94 for bug 39328

This really should be fixed for Lucid. It drives novice users nuts: they issue a scroll command and their windows go thoroughly berzerk. It's up there with Microsoft Windows' tendency to think the Super/Windows key is stuck down or Mac OS X's tendency to ignore window button clicks: simple, but really frustrating for a novice users.

I've personally seen this feature scuttle a Windows-to-Ubuntu migration because it pissed off a few VIPs.

It probably won't be fixed in gnome-panel because the focus isn't there, but Ubuntu's focus on usability should allow for better practice. The fix (make the behaviour optional and off by default) has been developed and is well-known.