I agree with keeping only what you need. That’s what I do with html5 boilerplate. It’s an amazing tool. I especially like the .htaccess file. But even this, I strip it down. It’s good practices that agree with the ideas in the book “Even faster websites” and the one before. Like stripping Etags if you don’t need them. Or caching for example. Html5 boilerplate is not bloat at all, there’s a lot to learn from it too. We can’t stop learning and stay stubborn because our ways work. Technology progresses fast and we have to keep pushing the boundaries!