I don't disagree, but I can only assume Allan reached a point where maybe all the features/fixes to-be-implemented warranted a near-total rewrite as opposed to

I don't disagree, but I can only assume Allan reached a point where maybe all the features/fixes to-be-implemented warranted a near-total rewrite as opposed to individually fixing or implementing them. Plus, the CJK fixes in particular he's discussed literally now years ago were supposed to involve Core Text, which I believe was new to Leopard, which was then in turn a fairly new thing. Perhaps in addition to his shortsightedness/disinterest/whatever it may have been that he didn't consider that cjk would be an issue, new APIs and more made the idea of a rewrite more appealing.