This just seems like a limitation of the technology. When you change the width of one column, the whole table should realign, without any changes to those parts of the file (it's just about how it's displayed).
I recall reading something about "tab stops" that solved this problem, but I don't think there are any mainstream implementations of it.
> Never attempt to line up text by using spaces. The only exception is if you are using a monospaced font. But in word processing applications, there are appropriate tools available for lining up text, like tables[1] and tab stops[2].
tab stops is still available in terminals. Tab in terminal move the cursor to next x*8(depends on setting) position independent of what character you input before.
But a major flaw is that it only works when your cell has less than 8 characters. Or it will go to the wrong stop. Which isn't that common today.
Because why insist in short names and 80 width character limit? Almost everyone have a screen that can fit hundreds of characters per line today.
Even without the line length problem, 8 character is unlikely to fit in a meaningful word. And because you need a space between each column, you actually only have 7. And nobody using random abbreviations now.
I recall reading something about "tab stops" that solved this problem, but I don't think there are any mainstream implementations of it.