I mean no one is arguing that it is the best or even an OK format for serious data storage. Other solutions exist for a reason. But it’s evergreen and won’t go

I mean no one is arguing that it is the best or even an OK format for serious data storage. Other solutions exist for a reason. But it’s evergreen and won’t go away precisely because of its simplicity. You will be able to use a CSV more or less identically in 2050, no questions asked. It’s inherently universal because it’s text-based, and I think you underrate the occasional need to inspect it yourself. And when you do, it’s nicer to view than JSON to throw out an example (arguably JSON and variants need their own bespoke file viewer!) It’s like saying markdown should be abandoned because text editors do all the formatting for you anyways and different markdown parsers exist and don’t always play nice. Or like saying txt should be abandoned in favor of rtf, even. Okay, sure, not invalid points. But in practice? Simplicity is often a virtue.