autotools matter just as much a the obfuscated bash, the tarball, email-only workflows, it's a symptom. we settle for bad tools out of convenience/necessity (st

autotools matter just as much a the obfuscated bash, the tarball, email-only workflows, it's a symptom. we settle for bad tools out of convenience/necessity (status quo bias, time pressure, perverse incentives - ie. it's a hobby project, free and open source, yet half the world depends on it, so half the world prefers it to remain free even if it remains amateurish).