So long, Abiword, and thanks for all the words
I finally had to give up on Abiword — it’s been toasted from thriftmac.
Every now and then, I would check to see if it was still breathing. It hadn’t been updated lately, but you could still download it and use it. As of this writing, you can’t even connect to a server.
If you’re desperate, you could do a search and likely find it on a sketchy download site. But your best bet for a free word processor with reasonable compatibility with Microsoft Word is to try LibreOffice.
I used to be required to have Word on my Mac for work. One of the first things I did after moving on was to delete it and other Microsoft apps. I can’t say for sure, but my Mac seems happier now.
On the rare occasion that I need Word compatibility, there’s always Apple’s Pages.