It was definitely a surprise to me when I learned some time ago that "modelessness" was considered an innovation when it was developed, since editors before tha

It was definitely a surprise to me when I learned some time ago that "modelessness" was considered an innovation when it was developed, since editors before that (I assume) were all modal! But I don't think modal/modeless is either/or. It can be (and I personally use) both.