Things have to break in order to get better. Its just something that people have to deal with.
Objectively the java Minecraft engine has gotten better in all the recent updates.
There is a reason why Forge doesn't port old things to the new versions even tho tons of people complain.
Because once they see the changes they realize they are good.
Mojang is not concerned with the between-version updating. They are concerned with the engine itself.
Holding themselves back because it might inconvenience modders is not what they should be doing.
Anyways, at the end of the day people can write for whatever they want, but the community AS A WHOLE, should move forward and keep up with the current version.
1.13 is being a major challenge, but hey it's worth it.