> All these tools could've just as well grown to be popular with a proper format, and your point would be exactly the same

And what would this "proper format" be? Currently JSON is in vogue (or JSON5, which allows comments?), but a few years ago it would have been XML, before that… CSV? TSV?

Or perhaps do a Choose Your Own Adventure:

* https://libxo.readthedocs.io/

The Unix-y world has been around for decades, so it many ways it has evolved rather than be designed.