'Deprecated' means "stop using this", not "this doesn't work anymore", albeit the former usually implies the latter, especially over time.

The Linux kernel's promise not to break userspace means lots of ancient shit still works even though maybe it shouldn't...

It's not flame bait, the article explains: These things aren't even on life support, they're adrift in space, dead.

Sure, they work, but they are deprecated and/or not recommended to be used in major linux distros.