I think that the bigger point of what the critics are saying is that Curl as it should be - a simple tool to download a file - is conceptually small. Of course

I think that the bigger point of what the critics are saying is that Curl as it should be - a simple tool to download a file - is conceptually small. Of course Curl has evolved into an enormous endeavor, just like the first kernels and browsers were tiny and now are impossible to rewrite because the scope has never stopped growing. The critics are pointing out that the growth in scope is a smell. If your software went from "all features are used by 50% of users" to just 0.1% of users, then you're probably shaving yaks.