I know the option to hide it through skins exists. But there are several reasons why disabling can be more beneficial to some uses.
- Disabling packages is easier and faster to do than skinning. (subjective)
- Actually turning of services/daemons frees up resources
- Disabling of services/daemons increases security. Less to attack, and if vulnerability for something you don't use comes up; your not affected if you got it disabled.
- Skinning doesn't simplify the CLI interface as disabling packages did
- Skinning is more like permissions (not allowed to see), the settings still apply in the background. For example if you hide PPP, it's popular for comprised routers to have VPN tunnels that you don't recognize like a PPPoE. If you hide it and never open it. You might not realize your router has become compromised. If it's disabled, you don't have to worry about it. If it all of a sudden shows up as a menu item again, you know something is up.
- MikroTik's interface is intimidating to novices and people coming from other brands interfaces. The easiest way I've found to walk someone through simplifying the interface to make it easier and make them feel more comfortable to poke around. Is to hide what they don't need so they don't get distracted by disabling un-needed packages. Making it less of an information overload first impression. They can feel more comfortable actually giving it a try and realize it's actually better thought out, planned, and more logical.
- Disabling unused packages cleans up your config exports. (little OCD) For example on wired only routers wired that you don't want to use wireless and you know you'll never add a PCI or USB wireless module. You'll always have /interface wireless security-profiles set [ find default=yes ] supplicant-identity=MikroTik in your config export even though you're not using wifi. This also happens when version upgrades change the defaults settings for things. You could have lots of lines in the config for no purpose at all.
It would also be nice to be able to disable DHCP again. Lots of times on core routers I don't use DHCP Client or Servers.
Since v7 added wireguard, would be nice to have an option to disable that.
hotspot, mpls, & routing is never used 99.99% of the time for SOHO, SMB, & home routers. These are more ISP and WISP used features. An ISP provided CPE device at the home might need it. But not a home or small business owned device.
ipv6, most ISPs haven't implemented it especially in countries that have had Internet well established since the inception. Lots of people don't utilize this because their ISP doesn't support it.
The above are typically pretty safe to disable for majority of people.
ppp; IPsec is better to use, but sometimes you don't have a choice.
wireless, is optional depending on if you have wireless interface. But I just feel when you don't need it during initial install, you typically don't ever need it.
And disabling packages is never harmful. If you need them back, just re-enable them.
