well, some people would argue javascript is [still] a mess. Douglas Crockford has spent a career pointing out a lot of the weak spots (while still loving the language mind you). PHP started out as a non-serious project, and today it's had some serious problems (multi-threading to name one).
However, on the other hand, there are also projects that start out as non-serious and get serious quick - the Linux kernel comes to mind.
I guess it can go two ways, but I'd contend a project that is started out with short-cuts because the author doesn't anticipate or plan for it to scale, will have a much tougher time doing so.
This isn't a problem in 5.5+ if you know what you're doing. That the language has a lot of people with no idea what they're doing is a testament to the fact PHP is easy to use and most others aren't for a novice, not that the language sucks.
I'm not the biggest PHP fan but since 5.3 most of the criticisms are unwarranted.
However, on the other hand, there are also projects that start out as non-serious and get serious quick - the Linux kernel comes to mind.
I guess it can go two ways, but I'd contend a project that is started out with short-cuts because the author doesn't anticipate or plan for it to scale, will have a much tougher time doing so.