This can be dealt with the proper design. If indented blocks must be aligned on preset number of spaces per indent, then other indents can be continuations. This is how I had designed my parser for the language which I was working on. I noticed Scala didn’t make this design decision so I figured there were going to be problems.
For braceless, I strongly suggest just outlaw tabs and be done with it. Choose 3 spaces for indentation and end the problem once and for all. For braced allow tabs and anything willy-nilly for maximum craziness and inconsistencies. Let people chose their poison.
I would bet the opposite is true, that the whitespace feature of Python contributes to its popularity.
Scala has accommodated you. You can still use curly braces. If you’re the type of person who prefers inconsistent indenting, inconsistent use of tabs, and the extra noise of braces, then you have not been abandoned. But why should you force to rest of us to make your choice? Let the ecosystem bifurcate.