[edw519]

I’d suggest that this cruft is among the most insidious forms of technical debt in that it’s held in place by a lack of understanding and fear to modify the program, rooted in superstition rather than reason.

"insidious", "technical debt", "lack of understanding", "fear to modify": agreed!

"rooted in superstition rather than reason": disagree...

My primary reason for not breaking it has always been lack of time. There were many times I encountered something I would have loved to have rewritten, but it would have thrown the rest of my schedule off. If I have 27 open tickets, 3 bosses, and 9 customers breathing down my neck, the last thing I need is some clusterfuck I broke and can't put back together fast enough. That's a mistake you only make once.