It's really a collective problem caused by user requirements (e.g. needing packages X, Y and Z), upstream practices (e.g. assumptions made by developers of X, Y and Z) and NixOS's unconventional approach (almost everything living in /nix/store/<hash>-<name>).
There's no need to blame anyone, we're just caught in an accident of history. If there is a cause of problems, it's Nix's unconventional approach; but if Nix didn't take that approach it would be just another run-of-the-mill distro with no distinguishing features.
I'd rather live in a world where I can choose whether or not to use NixOS's features, at the expense of its rough edges.
There's no need to blame anyone, we're just caught in an accident of history. If there is a cause of problems, it's Nix's unconventional approach; but if Nix didn't take that approach it would be just another run-of-the-mill distro with no distinguishing features.
I'd rather live in a world where I can choose whether or not to use NixOS's features, at the expense of its rough edges.