The big issue to me seems to be this idea that software should do everything under the sun, instead of doing one thing, and doing it well. The smaller software

The big issue to me seems to be this idea that software should do everything under the sun, instead of doing one thing, and doing it well. The smaller software is, the less it needs to be designed by committee. I get that this isn't ALWAYS doable. And that when you're designing things for end users that are allergic to reading any documentation, in-line or otherwise, it's an uphill battle. But it's an ideal to strive toward where possible to avoid monstrosities like systemd and pulseaudio. Some of the best code is the code written by one person.