Modes generally suck, but are often either unavoidable or better than the alternatives. For example, every graphics program has a "mode" for creating e.g., cur

Modes generally suck, but are often either unavoidable or better than the alternatives. For example, every graphics program has a "mode" for creating e.g., curves, whereas the "default mode" is selecting. This is very much a mode, but it is clearly indicated to the user by (typically) a change in cursor shape. It's still a mode (affects what clicks of the mouse do), but it's tolerable because it is directly entered (by selecting an icon to enter the mode), and feedback is relatively clear. There are modes, and then there are modes.