![request-next]
Zero abstraction that leads to minimalistic code base. Which is fine, but refactoring is needed on each stage of the software development, otherwise it turns into a giant mess of entangled [quick fixes, instead of having real features][quickfixes-vs-features].
Adding features requires more time, but even more importantly, it requires someone (or a group of people) to watch for and enforce the design goals. Without such people and a clear design on each stage of the development, that software project inevitably slows its growth and ultimately dies. Well, in the case of request it's still going to be used for a long time ahead, but no one wants to support it anymore.
Another negative impact of not having leadership is that the project's code base grows unproportionally in size and complexity, without its design evolving into a smaller and simpler components. The result is a huge chunk of code that no one have the time, energy and dedication to rewrite.