ablyth

As some perceptive posts have pointed out you could consider atonality a technique that forms part of the composers pallette rather than a style. And it is true that techniques never disappear they just come and go and come back again before being put back in the bottom drawer for a while. Obviously a composer has the freedom to explore any technique that suits their expressive purposes and their purpose is likely to change over time.
This then brings me to my next point which is about how we should conceive of what we do. Presumably most composers start creating music for self-expression as their first impetus. However it is reasonable to expect that once you get beyond the need just to express yourself, you should aim to communicate. I would expect that most people sign up to a forum so that they can communicate with the like-minded and share ideas. But there is a wider world and one of my concerns is that because tonality is so pervasive in the world, it needs to be any composers starting point if they are going to communicate with the world at large. Perhaps some composers only wish to communicate with likeminded theorists. Personally I wish to reach a lay audience so I find myself more concerned with where they are in terms of their musical understanding. Of course there is plenty of tonal rubbish around. No technique guarantees the value of what you do.