Also I already know about frontends. I've been using MAME for over ten years. I don't think it fixes the underlying issues in the code because it's just a frontend - the graphics on top (the menus, GUI). It does however add to the confusion and hassle a new user experiences when wondering about the best way to set up MAME. Does he choose this frontend? That frontend? This version of MAME? The one released 2 years ago during a certain month so that his romset is compatible with it?

For instance, some ROMs I just downloaded work in mame.exe but don't work in MAMEPPK. Why is this? I thought I had the new editions of both these programs, so I figured MAMEPPK was just a graphical version of the newest mame.

It's very disorganized.