[kgwxd]

If only using JavaScript required a license to operate and came with a set of rules enforced by fines and jail time :)

If every browser had done the sane thing from day 1 (no third-party scripts and no cross-domain communication) we wouldn't be in the mess we're in. Sites could still use all the power that comes with scripting, ad networks just wouldn't be feasible.

[distances]

Sites would collect the data with first-party scripts and tunnel through their own servers to ad peddlers.

[kgwxd]

That's fine. Now the first-party and ad peddlers have to work with and trust each other instead of using my machine, my ignorance and my disinterest in their dealings as an intermediary.