you are assuming the regular end user knows the difference between 4 spaces and a tab and the nuances that come with them trying to replace one with the other or why space between two values is different at one point from the next.
Commas are, by far, better delimeters than tabs in the grand scheme of things and with both expert and regular users considered.
I disagree. The end user doesn't need to know the difference between 4 spaces and a tab. Tabs are just whitespace.
Tabs are uncommon but convenient whitespace. Commas are extremely common content. Tabs are a vastly better delimiter.
If you are wrapping source code in a CSV, a) you're doing it wrong, and b) you'll get bitten by newlines just as quickly! If you're including content that requires specific whitespace preservation, just escape the (usually rare) tabs.
TSV certainly is not perfect. But it solves the major problems for 95% of CSVs, and it's just as convenient for humans.
I do agree that one should not arbitrarily munge content. But note that HTML does munge whitespace, and we've never suffered meaningfully for it.
I don't think you fully understood what i was saying.
If a regular user had rows like this
Adam Smith 27 WA
JonathanBoyd 23 NC
They are likely going to have tougher time adding a new row as compared to if it was comma delimited. You underestimate the simplicity of end users and how tabs and spaces can confuse them. This is why they prefer Excel, with boxes, because they cannot keep up with formatting and such. Tabs are spaces to many people. Commas are clearer.
Commas are, by far, better delimeters than tabs in the grand scheme of things and with both expert and regular users considered.