I see it as a language/api/environment smell, but also sometimes pragmatic. A good example would be the old MFC - somewhere between 'not ergonomic' and 'ungodly

I see it as a language/api/environment smell, but also sometimes pragmatic. A good example would be the old MFC - somewhere between 'not ergonomic' and 'ungodly mess' if you were using it manually, but paired with VC++ 5.0 it was pretty good for bashing out general business and productivity apps.