Some SVG is very readable and easy to modify. I'm no designer but I've opened up SVG files and made modifications to get what I want (remove elements, change colors, etc).
Not all SVG authoring tools make SVG's easy to read/modify. Tools in the 90's used to the same thing with HTML. Are you going to argue HTML isn't text?
Compression is part of human communication also. Sometimes it's used to keep the communication short, sometime to hide the meaning behind what is said.
lol, brb, PFA, W.H.O., IMHO, IANAL, GPA, GTA.. word soup for a different audience..
