[eadmund]

> I can't remember the last time I created a website in a professional setting that would work without JS.

A website which does not work without JavaScript is by definition unprofessional. That doesn't apply to web applications, which of course use JavaScript heavily, and need to (at least until WebAssembly is ready for prime time — and even then JavaScript is required as a shim).

The Web is a web of hyper-linked pages, documents. It does not require JavaScript, although of course many pages are improved with the dynamic behaviour enabled by JavaScript.

[lelandfe]

An odd definition of unprofessional. Building and testing a site for running without JS is a non-zero cost. But I've never seen usage stats that show that demographic above 1.5% of the browser market share – and those are old stats. It was sub 0.5% for the sites that I ran at the time (2018).

I don't mean to sound flippant, nor do I mean to insult anyone's favorite browsing style, but insisting on this might be shouting into the wind? I could never make a business case for it, at least.

[rauhl]

> That doesn't apply to web applications, which of course use JavaScript heavily

I propose that rather than ‘Web applications’ these be called ‘browser applications,’ because they are applications that run within the browser runtime. It is basically a coincidence (and a convenience) that they happen to rely on the same technology used for the Web.

What I don’t understand is why folks write browser applications for things that the Web platform already handles well. The Web is pretty cool! Not perfect, but then nothing is.

[mbesto]

By definition? Who's definition?

> The Web is a web of hyper-linked pages

The web is an open specification that has evolved greatly over time. Pretending like these principles are religious are exactly the antithesis of an open standard. It requires debate and discourse.