Oh, I'm familiar. I didn't work under those rules, but I'm just saying that 117 isn't exactly great at protecting crews. I can't remember if the Mesa incident was pre- or post-117. Effectively, it hasn't changed much, in that regard.
Yeah ... it's not too far off of that now, generally speaking. Extensions are automatic, after all. Fatigue is the only recourse. (The FAA caved)
They're actually really not, for all operators. The regionals, at least, have found a way to exploit all the loopholes, get all of the right interpretations, and "optimize" the schedules. (And abuse the hell out of the word "unplanned.")