When you think that format is only a means of output, it's just one of many tools. There are many questions about HTML, XML, etc. output.

I think the trend away from format is that nobody really cares about text output anymore in a pretty format. They want gimmicks, images, bright flashing lights and all the latest bells and whistles

That said, I use format for text email reports I send out. I just think there's really not much to it - at least not as much as the "extraction" part ;)