Problem

As you can see in the comments here, and various other questions about how to use matplotlib, the way the functions have been programmed, and the mind-boggling way in which various nuances have to be attended to in order to plot some simple figures, matplotlib really needs a usability makeover.

Proposed solution

In the course of a few years, please take some time to think-through how you can simplify the usage of matplotlib and make functions and parameters more intuitive. Also, about how you can ensure that various functionalities are handled automatically, instead of requiring the user to explicitly specify various parameters. I'm not mentioning specifics, since every single aspect of matplotlib needs to be improved. You could retain the existing functions for backward compatibility, and create a wrapper that'd expose the new functions.