I prefer that Discourse devote resources to other tasks than maintaining compatibility with old and atypical browsers. But I do appreciate their efforts to maintain a working interface that will assist a tiny proportion of users. Even so, it is a type of moral hazard because it supports the continuing use of less-secure, increasingly-obsolete systems.
It bothers me more that even if an upgrade to Android 5.x were available some Android 4.4.x users would not make the upgrade. Some would continue to insist on support so Discourse will always face demands to retain obsolete code to support a small minority.
It does bother me more that the Android ecosystem forces unnecessary obsolescence. But I don’t expect Discourse to fight that battle:
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Android doesn’t receive upgrades to new versions on old devices so we are forced to replace our handsets to retain Android support. Consequently Android 4.4 usage is dying out … but these are 5-6 year old handsets:
7% in May 2019
3% in August 2019
not even measured now in 2020 e.g. statcounter.com -
Android 4.4 will soon be out of support from Google. Consequently many apps I use have already dropped support - my banking app has required Android 5.0 since 2018.