creeping featurism

creeping featurism /kree'ping fee'chr-izm/ n. 
   1. Describes a systematic tendency to load more {chrome} and
   {feature}s onto systems at the expense of whatever elegance they
   may have possessed when originally designed.  See also {feeping
   creaturism}.  "You know, the main problem with {BSD} UNIX has
   always been creeping featurism."  2. More generally, the tendency
   for anything complicated to become even more complicated because
   people keep saying "Gee, it would be even better if it had this
   feature too".  (See {feature}.)  The result is usually a
   patchwork because it grew one ad-hoc step at a time, rather than
   being planned.  Planning is a lot of work, but it's easy to add
   just one extra little feature to help someone ... and then
   another ... and another.... When creeping featurism gets
   out of hand, it's like a cancer.  Usually this term is used to
   describe computer programs, but it could also be said of the
   federal government, the IRS 1040 form, and new cars.  A similar
   phenomenon sometimes afflicts conscious redesigns; see
   {second-system effect}.  See also {creeping elegance}.