At the time I couldn't understand why some people hated it. And I knew how to use the previous version, I was fairly used to it.
But the ribbon made sense. You had the organization of the menus, and discoverability for more uncommon icons since they now had labels. You could always find what you wanted quickly the first time.
Plus, it was collapsible if you needed space, and it worked with the keyboard if you wanted to learn it.
"discoverability for more uncommon icons since they now had labels."
This is like what my father used to say about hitting yourself over the head with a 2-by-4; it felt so good when you stopped. Icons are good if they have a menu label attached. If you have to look for the menu label (which I always do, despite having used MsOffice at work for forever), what do you need the icon for?
"You could always find what you wanted quickly the first time." Wrong. We have now switched to Office 365. In some ways the ribbon is similar, but it's enough different that I'm constantly hunting for something that I sort of knew where to find before. I've resorted to looking for on-line help several times today (you know the kind with the screenshots.) So I'm definitely not finding things quickly the first time. And even after I've used a widget several times, I still don't find it any quicker than I do with the menus in LibreOffice (at home).
But the ribbon made sense. You had the organization of the menus, and discoverability for more uncommon icons since they now had labels. You could always find what you wanted quickly the first time.
Plus, it was collapsible if you needed space, and it worked with the keyboard if you wanted to learn it.