Most languages are remembered for their syntax. The decisions behind that syntax are rarely written down, and even more rarely survive. This essay is about what disappears when a project stops recording why, and a small tool built to stop it from happening.
Plugin systems rarely fail in ways that are easy to diagnose. They do not crash outright. This article explores how weak boundaries, shared responsibility, and unconstrained extension lead to such systems remaining functional while becoming increasingly difficult to reason about, change, or trust. The focus is on structural failure modes rather than specific frameworks or implementations.