Looks like the argument for pretty much always follows this template:

• WTF does this weird UNIX behavior?
• lol RTFM, you're too stupid to know about it
• No, I actually know about it, but it'd be nice if it didn't bite ever beginner's ass
• Then if your remember it what is the problem?
• I shouldn't have to care about this stuff or remember it's here
• It already was this way before you were born
• But before I was born, computers were much differents, and the tradeoffs behind engineering decisions were different from today
• But if we changed it, UNIX would be much less powerful
• No, here's an idea of implementation that would keep it powerful
• It wouldn't be backwards-compatible
• Here's an idea of implementation that would allow legacy software to rely on the gotcha
• It'd be less performant
• CPUs and RAM are cheap
• What about realtime embedded enterprise-grade servers?
• Have different versions, one in ASM without any useful feature, and another one that isn't user-hostile? Isn't what that free open-source thing's about?
• You're all talk, but why don't you just fix it yourself? THAT is what that free open-source thing is about.

Cue quote from TAOUP, that one about UNIX being the sum of its errors, or one from K&R or Don Knuth if you really need to win the argument.