Why don't more developers "use the platform"?

This piece examines why many developers resist the admonition to “use the platform” - i.e., prefer userland libraries or custom code over built-in browser or platform APIs. It lays out pragmatic historical reasons: browsers lagged behind ecosystem needs for years, evergreen releases are relatively recent, and readable, polished packages and docs on npm outshone fragmented platform documentation. Framework ergonomics also matter: React developers often prefer familiar idioms wrapped around lower-level platform calls, and third-party libraries have filled gaps between raw APIs and framework-friendly primitives. Documentation, marketing, and examples (e.g., Dragula vs MDN) make packaged solutions more attractive than terse platform pages.

Beyond practicality, the write-up explains human motivations: building things is fun and educational, and the “IKEA effect” makes maintainers favour their own code. The modal example shows how implementing UX and accessibility can be a rewarding learning path that leads to published libraries. Sometimes custom work stems from ignorance - CSS complexity drove JS workarounds - and sometimes from genuine necessity. An analogous ClickHouse story illustrates how deeper platform knowledge can eliminate waste. The author ends by weighing AI’s impact: models could either champion platform APIs or proliferate bespoke, duplicated code, and concludes that “use the platform” is a useful slogan but one that must reckon with history, ergonomics, learning, and tooling.