> Yes, you have some extra code in your code base so it's less clean. You also have a stable environment as a result. The first affects only your personal preference. The latter affects all of your developers and users.
Backward compatibility has real costs. You cannot restructure your code base as easy, you cannot deprecate bad ideas, cannot extend it as easy more and so on and so on. Sure, it also has real benefits (as you've stated), but missing the disadvantages while only highlighting the advantages is not a useful approaching, it only shows "your personal preference".
Backward compatibility has real costs. You cannot restructure your code base as easy, you cannot deprecate bad ideas, cannot extend it as easy more and so on and so on. Sure, it also has real benefits (as you've stated), but missing the disadvantages while only highlighting the advantages is not a useful approaching, it only shows "your personal preference".