> If you are working with a bunch of android/javascript/etc developers who've never seen make, and who haven't exercised the skillset of reading through 3-decade-old email threads to find answers, you'll find that the only thing you'll do is "make" them upset.

Actually I find most answers either in official documentation or on StackExchange sites. And I much prefer digging in mailing lists over digging in GitHub issues. You access both over web anyway.