wow, sorry to hear you’re having trouble! I’ve been teaching and using it for years, keeping up with my clients afterwards, and know that if folks aren’t quite sure of what’s happening (where files should be saved, etc.) it can fall apart. If you need any help you can reach out to me directly, let me know.
Usually you’d want to use Dropbox, Google Drive, or Sharepoint/One Drive if some or all users are remote. That is, keep the project folder with all files in a local subfolder from one one of those services and share it with other members … designers and editors … of the group. Everything on people’s local hard drives, with the service syncing in the background and keeping all members up to date.
As for alternatives, the only I know of is from CtrlSoftware (https://ctrlsoftware.com/) though I think that requires editors to use either InCopy or InDesign anyway. Just might be an easier workflow for your situation … haven’t looked at it in years myself, though.
You’re absolutely right that Adobe hasn’t given it a good healthy upgrade in decades! Other than to allow it to keep up with InDesign. Which is no small feat really. Pretty cool how many of the things are working rock solid.
AM
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