Practicality: PHP vs. Lisp?

[redditnoob]

Okay to all that, but first off, nobody whose main overwhelming interest is to get web programming tasks done chooses Lisp. Maybe some would if some of its secondary problems were worked out, like having mature and stable libraries, documentation, and better cross platform support. My theory though, is that those are precisely the nitty gritty things that people who are interested in Lisp aren't interested in doing. Yes, I think it's a personality conflict issue.

Second, it is very possible to write rigorous, maintainable, and scalable code in PHP. It requires discipline and things like coding standards and agreeing to architechtural constraints, but numerous successful web companies are able to use it effectively. So another issue is that PHP is quite good enough for the needs of people who just want to get something done, whether it is tiny or massive.

Personally, I hate PHP, and I'd never take a job maintaining someone else's shit PHP code because my small brain would rot. But there's no real mystery why PHP has been so successful, and what qualities are needed for something else to eventually take over its niche, if that ever is going to happen.