[jmadsen]

I had to use a js library for something today.

npm install downloaded 113 new packages. I'm not even a javascript programmer; I'm saddled with being "full-stack"

I'm supposed to read all that every time I need a new library? Or write it myself, when I have absolutely no idea how to build something that complicated, if I had time, negating the whole point of OSS in the first place?

[aepiepaey]

The point made is to read code to become a better programmer. That doesn't mean you have to read all code you ever use.

[akkartik]

OP makes no prescription about reading code. It merely points out what successful attempts to understand strange codebases have in common, and discusses what writers can do to help readers succeed.

(I proof-read drafts of OP. And I have made prescriptions about reading code. But that's a separate story.)