As a musician, I think of it as a note that starts on beat 3 of one bar and finishes on beat 1 a couple of bars later. But that would probably work awkwardly as a way to enter rhythms (except maybe on a piano roll?) The best you can say about having to notate tie chains from left to right is that it echoes what we used to have to do with a pencil. I remember sighing with frustration when I was copying music (maybe using an early version of Sibelius, or Encore?) and came across a long tie chain, or a heap of dotted rhythms. I’ll take the win on speed any day of the week.