Software bloat & open source

[VS]

Interesting part of an article - the rest is not really that interesting (to me at least).

However, an open source app maintainer faces two disparate audiences. End-users, most of whom can't understand why you won't just add one more "optional" feature to the application, and a large group of well-meaning hackers who are happy to contribute patches to add said feature, and fork their own (more open to new features) version if you don't accept them. Thus, the trend toward insanity. I'd typed up a much longer explanation of all of this, but I think a couple of screenshots really say it better than I can.

From http://metautonomo.us/2011/01/25/how-writing-libraries-restored-my-faith-in-open-source/

[Zeno]

Nice article, all of it. I've been saying for ages that programming for programmers (libraries) is far more frateful than programming for users (apps)!

[prissi]

I agree to this statement too. Even more, also a program should try to keep its interface as tidy as possible without making the access to advanced functionality overly complicated. And every feature should have its benefit or it should not go in. If a feature is nice, but could cause confusion on the price of saving ten mouseclick - rather leave it out or hide it from plain view. But anyone using or watching simutrans probably knows this anyway by now ...