I would never ever dare opposing an expert with a 30 year of coding experience, however, maybe it is my missunderstanding, but still Macromedia products seem to be "THE PRODUCTS" for web development.

Let's just clarify - users that stick to the quick-add buttons, draw table layots and stuff are the ones you don't count, is that correct?
I have been using MM tools since Dreamweaver 3 when I took my first steps in web design. That is how I learned - in split screen, watching the code change. Now I use it the other way arround - still in dual view, writing the code and watching the changes in the preview screen .

Now, as an MM user, I really enjoy the code assistance it provides - the auto tag closing functionallity, the code hints, the Reference it has as help, and of course - code colouring that is trully helpful in error finding. And you say the code is dirty...well...obvioursly you have never ever tried to re-code or edit a page created by MS Office products....well that is a dirty code. A page with tabular data, exported from WORD as a web page, had an output of 350Kb.!!! After automated Macromedia word clearing functions it was reduced to 60kb. After a complete cleaning, sticking to css rules and reduction of unnecessary code, at the end I got a really nice page, looking the same way as in word, still - only 20Kb TOTAL. Well that is a messy code...

Now - about standards - a few years ago, when "the browser wars" raged, we all have seen the pro-ie or pro-Netscape coding. You all remember what a complete mess it was - a website saying - you have to utilize this resolution and IE preferably. Now, after the css and web standards in general are supported by more and more coders, and more and more browsers(although there are some differences), I find it much more easier and really much better to code a page. I try to stick to the standards and avoid the "hacks" in order to achieve what I want, and I do so, because the hacks won't work tomorrow. Another thing is - another guy may support this website tomorrow, so why should he reinvent or rewrite the complete code - he has just change the "skin", the bones are always the same.
It is the same way for me in php / javascript when I code. I try to make the code more clear, more user-friendly, and eventually I try to leave as many code hints and in-line comments to support myself, or the coder after me - you can never remember what the hell you were thinking 2-3 months ago when you coded a page, unless you have hints or comments...and what about the things you coded an year ago?

Indentation is readability. True that no indentation or no whitespaces saves bandwith, but, I don't think that at present and maybe in near future there will be a problem with the bandwidth - I could not imagine a download speed of 60K 2 years ago(at least not here in Bulgaria), still, today if you drop below 50k your provider sucks . Soon we will see such speed even on mobile devices, so ... how much whitespace-saving will spare from the bandwidth?!

And at last, but not least - If you want to improve, you have to learn every day. I grasp new ideas from the other coders on the web, by reading the code of the pages I like, and I would be glad if yonger coders are able to get ideas from the pages I've done, and that is how the web will go better every day. And what makes me sad is that there are a lot of web coders that just do it for the money, regardless of the messy, full of errors, not corresponding to the standards code they produce.

Keep it pure I would say