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Amen.

If no one can use your code, it doesn't matter how beautiful, well-thought-out, or well-written it is. Software exists for the purpose of being executed. If your project cannot be deployed with a reasonable amount of effort, it's worse than bad software, it's a waste of time.




What about easy-to-install software that makes it easy for Bad People to ruin the Internet and to compromise your server (and potentially your entire organization)?

That is bad too. If I had to pick between "secure + customizable but hard to setup" and "easy to set up, but is a one giant gaping security problem", I think I would rather have the first.

Software is about collaboration, like a relationship; one person shares their ideas (qmail), another shares his (your site's configuration), and both parties do better than the sum of their parts. Easy-to-install software that doesn't require thought or communication is a one-way conversation; nice in the short term, but not something you want to be with for the rest of your life.




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