If one purchases a new computer with a USB 3.0 port it is compatible with USB 2.0. Same for a new multiport USB 3.0 hub.
If one purchases a new wifi router that is AC capable it is backwards compatible with previous standards. Dito if instead one purchases an new PC that is AC compatible.
One could go on with backwards compatibility.
Of course the reason for the backwards compatibility is so that one does not need to upgrade everything they own when replacing one device.
Do you also believe, bdn9999, that there is an issue with all these devices because they include backwards compatibility?

Lets say I build a computer.
It works fine for one year.
It works fine for a second year.
It works fine for a third year.
It works fine for a fourth year.
It works fine for a fifth year.
At what point should the OS I use stop supporting my system components because they are "too old"?

You have in many ways encapsulated my original question

Would one expect to be able to buy a computer today that had support for 8" diskettes, or to reasonably find a diagram for a thermionic tube? At a certain point (cf original questions) a certain time limit must be reached. Now, there are complexities in this - such as archival of material (but this is not a librarian forum).

There's a wider question here of accessibility - if we want (and I think we do) to encourage the next generation of programmers, tinkerers, et al, then we have an obligation to de-obfuscate; otherwise we run the risk of being 'elitist' or 'stuck-in-the-mud' or simply irrelevant.

Ooooooooooh...kay.

Look what just showed up in our aggregator:

https://www.linuxquestions.org/quest...07#post5876007

How about "solus"