Just a summary of the article and a comment from http://www.codinghorror.com/blog/archives/000326.html:
“Social psychologists and police officers tend to agree that if a window in a building is broken and is left unrepaired, all the rest of the windows will soon be broken.”
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“We've seen clean, functional systems deteriorate pretty quickly once windows start breaking.”
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“Don't leave "broken windows" (bad designs, wrong decisions, or poor code) unrepaired.”
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“I think this works in reverse, too - I call it the Disney World Effect. The place is so clean, so perfect, that nobody would dare litter. You'll see people walk across the street to throw away the tiniest piece of trash. Few people want to be the first person to mess something up.”
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