[lmkg]

Stroustrup is right, but that doesn't prove your point. Every language will have detractors, but not every language will be the target of every particular complaint. Lua, for example, is a useful language and it has largely avoided being a ball of mud.

Naturally, that minimalism brings its own set of issues and complaints. But the point is, you don't need to be as much of a ball of mud as C++ in order to be useful or successful. I think a lot of language partisans, and C++ partisans in particular, point to Stroustrup's quote as an excuse for their language's warts. It's true that no language can ever be perfect, but that doesn't mean that all complaints are without merit and unworthy of attention and consideration.