I already assume you are using meaningful names for functions, classes and methods, as any self-respecting programmer will do. I can completely live with a 50

I already assume you are using meaningful names for functions, classes and methods, as any self-respecting programmer will do. I can completely live with a 50 line function that does magic in a legacy project, as long as I don't have to read through it. 'split it into pieces' is everybody's favorite argument, but nobody is going to pay you to refactor it. DOCUMENT IT.