[alwaysdownvoted]

"... software bloat almost always comes from smart, often the smartest, devs who are technically the most competent."

I am quite happy with software written by people who who do not view themselves as "devs" who are "smart", "the smartest", or the "most technically competent".

I'm also happy with software written by telephone company employees in the 1970's, a grad student in the 1980's and a university maths teacher in the 1990's. Software written by "security researchers" is usually not bad either.

I like the small programs that win the IOCC; if I were asked to name a test for "competence" (my definition), the IOCC would be high on my list.

I have no reason to question that the "devs" writing the bloat, e.g., at Microsoft in the 2000's or any number of companies today, are _brilliant_.

However I have little interest in that class of software. I think bloat is stupid. Not to mention unnecessary for my purposes. If I cannot pick the code apart and recompile it myself, then the software is nothing but a liability to me, not an asset.