David Heinemeier Hansson

Many people claim they want simple solutions, but their buying habits often reveal a preference for complex, sophisticated options. This phenomenon is prevalent in the tech industry, where basic problems are frequently turned into daunting challenges, solvable only by expensive, subscription-based solutions. High margins are more easily achieved by renting services rather than selling them outright. The driving factors behind this trend include fear, vanity, sloth, and pride. However, simplicity is within reach if one chooses to reject the complexities pushed by these 'merchants of complexity'.

Merchants of complexity

You’re not wrong, DHH. Slack is overly-complicated at this point. But by the same token, Campfire is too simple for my company to adopt. We need file sharing, voice chats and screen-sharing. With those missing features, and maybe a price double what you’re asking now, it would like still be attractive.

I’m a frog in boiling water. Complexity comes after a series of seemingly simple decisions, when I zoom out and glance at my amalgamation of an end product.
Although an amalgamation is sometimes just too big to be simple. Idk. Simple doesn’t scale, because big things are a lot to take in.