In response to a hot Laravel topic: “Laravel is going in the wrong direction IMHO“.
The nature of open-source projects is often misunderstood. “Open source” doesn’t inherently mean “free of cost” or “community-driven”—it simply means the source code is accessible to anyone. WordPress is a familiar example of this dynamic, and PHP’s gradual adoption of strong typing reflects a similar evolution.
People tend to resist change because it can be disruptive. They also expect things to be “free” in terms of cost, but a project like Laravel wouldn’t exist—or thrive—without some form of financial support. Money fuels innovation, after all. Laravel’s team, though relatively small, must adapt to this reality. Products and packages come and go, each with a shelf life tied to standard practices and evolving customer expectations.
Authentication is a prime example of shifting “customer baseline expectations.” The traditional username-and-password model is nearly obsolete online, driven by changing user behavior. People struggle to remember passwords—especially unique ones required for every site—and instead prefer seamless options like logging in with Google, Apple, or other services. With 70% of users now accessing platforms via their phones, convenience is king.
If the code is open (as it is with Laravel), the project still needs a way to generate revenue to avoid stagnation. This is roughly analogous to Google prioritizing ads over organic search results. When something is “free” to use, there’s always a trade-off—something has to give to keep the wheels turning. At some point, teams must embrace ecosystem-driven changes and evolving customer patterns. Features inevitably reach an end-of-life when the behaviors they support fade away; maintaining them becomes a poor investment, racking up technical debt with little return.
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