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by debacle 1355 days ago
I don't want to sound like I have an axe to grind (but I do), but this is the kind of feature/wart that shows the age of the HTML/CSS/JS stack.

The whole thing is ripe for a redo. I know they get a lot of hate, but of all the big players in this space I think FB is the best equipped to do this in a way that doesn't ruin everything. I just wonder if they have an incentive (maybe trying to break the Google/MS hegemony on search?).
5 comments
eptcyka 1355 days ago
The best equipped to do this are Google/MS/Apple because they actually control the source code of relevant contemporary browsers.
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debacle 1355 days ago
I think that this is the case (right now) because of Apple's stranglehold on the browser on iOS and the complex relationship between Google/Apple.

If FB could launch a browser on iOS that was in their walled garden, not only would it quickly receive wide adoption but it might become people's primary browser.

Not that I necessarily think that's a good thing, mind you.

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eptcyka 1355 days ago
Why would it quickly receive any adoption? Of all of the behemoths, I would trust FB the least here. Not that I trust any of the other big players enough not to use Firefox everywhere I can.
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debacle 1355 days ago
The word "trust" doesn't factor into ~90% of users' decisions.

If FB says "hey install this app," they will install it.

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WallyFunk 1355 days ago
> The whole thing is ripe for a redo

Web developers have worked around quirks for as long as I can remember. The stack has many warts, but we learn to adapt to them. Like 90% of a web developer's job is working around gotchas, and will continue that way. A 'redo' might not be needed. Developers need something to moan about and need something to keep them employed :)

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doliveira 1355 days ago
I find it pretty funny that we humans have invented all these transpilers and bundlers, invested probably billions of dollars in JITs, just to keep writing JS
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tfsh 1355 days ago
Could you explain how rewriting one of the worlds most complex and critical specifications would break of the Google/MS hegemony on search?
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debacle 1355 days ago
Sorry, what I meant was:

"If FB decided to try and break into search, then they might decide to attack the HTML/CSS/JS stack."

Not the other way around.

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goatlover 1355 days ago
There’s always WASM, and I think Zuck is more interested in VR than trying to push a new web standard.
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