SMS wrote:

The negatives
of the compact frame geometry are too great for him personally,

What negatives are there other than aesthetic concerns? "Not enough
sizes" occurs in both types of bike, so that doesn't count. "Can't
find a seatpost long enough" went away before 1990, and only ever
applied to a small subset of riders and bikes anyway.

Most of my bikes have level top tubes, but I have ridden strongly
sloped bikes since the late '80s as well, without becoming aware of
the negative aspects you allude to.

Chalo