I believe a free/open source desktop OS that's easy for "regular" people to use is VERY important. One of the "selling" points is "stuff doesn't break, it will work the same way it does today as it will tomorrow." This could improve the user experience for a lot of people, this could get more people interested in tech, this could save a lot of e-waste. Again, this isn't mere ideas for me -- I do this with lots of people all the time.
Now sure, you could get on your tech high horse and say "well, all those newbs should catch up." Yes, I think the people who focus too strongly on comparatively small things like fractional scaling aren't seeing the bigger picture. And that is pathetic.
Not breaking stuff is a great goal, but it is a trade off, there is a cost to supporting the old, and it isn't always worth paying. Just sounds like your priorities don't line up with the people actually paying and doing the work. Your attempts to convince that it's a better option by telling them they are stupid actually are misguided if you think that'll actually work.