[crpatino]

> Perhaps what is "needlessly" hard (whatever that really means) to one is the exact right solution for someone else?

Trying to be everything to everyone is one of the surest ways I know to generate byzantine monstrosities. On the other hand, it takes some real nerve and discipline to tell 'No, that is not really what our product is about' to a paying customer.

[marcosdumay]

Yet, extensible interfaces are often successfully used to create stuff that are everything for everybody.

It takes good engineering, and you still won't be able to say yes for every request (for lack of time if no other reason), but it does not require your product to be needlessly hard to use.

It's also not for every product. I just wanted to point that exceptions exist.