What problem are we trying to solve?
The Override Node Options module that I said yesterday is used on 35,000 websites isn't a complicated module.
It doesn't add a lot of features.
It solves a problem by adding additional permissions to Drupal that site administrators can assign to user roles and not need to give a more global permission like "administer nodes".
The problem being solved is allowing users to set node options, like the created date or published status, in a secure way.
If it wasn't solving a problem, it wouldn't be used on 35,000 Drupal websites.