[jarrett]

> It's pretty easy to get burned going either direction

Quite true, though I'd argue that YAGNI is still true as a probabilistic maxim. You'll make the "will I need it" decision many thousands of times in your career. If you follow YAGNI consistently[1], it will help you more often than it hurts, and you'll come out ahead in the long run.

[1] But nobody is saying you should ignore concrete evidence that you will need something later. That's its own cargo cult. If there's good reason to believe YAGNI doesn't apply in a particular case, don't follow it in that case.

[sanderjd]

I think this is a dangerous line of thinking, but I suppose I wouldn't modify it very much. What I would say is that YAGNI should perhaps be weighted higher, but that the probability of it being wrong in particular cases should be considered carefully.