But what would the alternative be?

( I assume by extension that you also abhor libfoo.so.x.y.z and are not just griping about the arse-about-face labelling of libfoo.x.y.z.so )

At least in linux, for the whole part, backward compatibility is often kept, and it is possible to keep multiple versions of libraries around anyway. I've had a lot less dynamic library version issues under linux than under any 'doze box I've ever had.