Yes, you are correct that the statement I gave is grounded in UNIX Philosophy.
Write programs that do one thing and do it well.
However, I stand by my comments in light of the Gnu Philosphy:
https://www.gnu.org/philosophy/greve-clown.en.html
Therefore, accessibility of source code is a necessary condition for free software. Obfuscated “source code” is not real source code and does not count as source code.
https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/FOSS_A_General_Introduction/Introduction
Reduced duplication of effort
By releasing programs early and granting users the right to modify and redistribute the source code, FOSS developers reuse the work produced by compatriots. The economies of scale can be enormous. Instead of five software developers in 10 companies writing a single networking application, there is the potential for the combined efforts of 50 developers. The reduced duplication of effort allows FOSS development to scale to massive, unheard of levels involving thousands of developers around the world.
Integrating software into the Gnome Shell adheres that software to the Gnome D.E. and Shell.
It is not modular, cannot be easily distributed and is obfuscated by the surrounding shell code.
I am not alone in thinking this: So have the Gnome Devs:
On numerous occasions, actually, Gnome Devs including Tobias Bernard floated leaving GPL due to it "restricting their mission and desires for Gnome."