When code gets messy, there’s always someone who wants to start over. Throw it all out. Rebuild from scratch. This time we’ll do it right.

I’ve spent years arguing against the big rewrite. I’m (almost always) firmly Team Refactor.

Why? Because rewrites discard something precious: the accumulated wisdom embedded in the system. Every line of code represents decisions made, problems solved, edge cases discovered. Someone spent time… their creativity, their care, their effort… building solutions that work.

Organizations are the same. Years of relationship-building. Trust earned through reliability. Lessons learned from mistakes. Systems developed through trial and error. That institutional knowledge has real value, even when the current state feels messy.

The rewrite impulse assumes the problem is the thing itself. But usually, the problem is that we’ve outgrown the original structure without evolving it. The answer isn’t demolition. It’s thoughtful renovation.

Organizations face the same temptation. When things get complicated, there’s a seductive simplicity to “defund and rebuild.” Start fresh. New governance. New people. This time with clear rules.

But that’s disconnected from how organizations actually improve. You don’t defund your way to better governance. You iterate. You refactor. You acknowledge the human effort that built what exists, even as you work to make it better.

I don't understand why @alyankovic has never done a take on @electric6's "Gay Bar," with @ZabarsIsNY in the titular role