> today named "kibibyte" though in that day that word didn't exist yet & it was just a kilobyte and the base 2 inferred from context

That is still what most people do. Only very pendantic individuals insist on using KiB, etc. Normal people are just fine inferring from context whether base-2 or base-10 is meant.

My opinion is use KiB as the abbreviation but pronounce it as kilobyte. It pisses off both sides but makes the most sense to me for both being technically and historically accurate at the same time.