I don't know that they're all "horrible" hacks, but yes. We still generally don't know the best way to build a complicated website. We can't even agree on the simple stuff -- for example Angular2 and React, two of the hottest frameworks, pursue wildly different philosophies.
I think it's exciting. It keeps me motivated to learn new things, and really think about the code I'm writing.
> We still generally don't know the best way to build a complicated website
We do. The web was supposed to be a content-delivery mechanism not an application-delivery mechanism. The problem is that it was shoehorned into an application-delivery mechanism, and the lines between content and user interface were blurred so much that it delivers neither particularly well any longer.
This quote from Alan Kay sums up my (and OP's) feelings about the web stack:
> The Internet was done so well that most people think of it as a natural resource like the Pacific Ocean, rather than something that was man-made. When was the last time a technology with a scale like that was so error-free? The Web, in comparison, is a joke. The Web was done by amateurs.
What makes you say the web was supposed to be about content-delivery? Gopher was about content-delivery. I don't see how you can make the same claim for http/html.
I'm not saying the web is great or anything, but it's a little funny to me that people on a site for "hackers" are afraid to get their hands a little dirty. Yes, the web was shorted sight (what technology isn't?) but to me the fact that we're able to use it as an application-delivery system is something to awe at not complain about.
I think it's exciting. It keeps me motivated to learn new things, and really think about the code I'm writing.