I would like to argue that, in most of these cases, it's not "code quality" that is at fault, but "design quality" (before coding) - which is often absent entir

I would like to argue that, in most of these cases, it's not "code quality" that is at fault, but "design quality" (before coding) - which is often absent entirely. The problem with design, in software, is not that most people forget to do it. It's that they never learn to do it. It always comes back to bite you. I don't want to start a discussion on design, and how most people mess it up because of lack of skill or experience therein. But hacker culture seems to be allergic to design, and hacker culture seems to be what everybody strives for these days.