Abstraction is like alcohol: a little is nice; a little more is a little nicer. A lot is a headache. Is it really worth writing one line when you can write 3? Or 8? As a consumer, when is finding the right gem harder than just writing it yourself? Some examples of over-gemmification and a few lines of code that do what you need. As a producer, what does it take to get your code ready to be released as a gem? It's turtles all the way down. Unless you make some assumptions for them to stand on.