[catapart]

I think the general consensus is that people would like it if anything that doesn't need javascript wouldn't use it.

There are a few who just won't engage with the utility of it, but for most people I've talked to, it's just a matter of oversaturation. Case in point with github - why should I need you to use a script to handle documents? The web was built for documents. Browsers are made to interpret documents. Putting javascript in the middle of that should require a good reason. And, unfortunately, for a lot of applications - and even static websites - devs tend to just use javascript because it's easier than reasoning about how to handle static content differently than any actually dynamic content that the dev is working with.

But, like others have said, Github does have some pretty compelling reasons to be an SPA. So there's a little bit of reasonable understanding here. The problem, in this instance, is a compound: first, github WAS document-first and has only been made to require an unnecessary technology layer, which is pretty galling and, second, Microsoft is not some 5-dev operation that is prioritizing tasks for their first app. They are one of the most well-established companies in the world, whom are famous for their backward compatibility. If ANYONE should be able to produce a competent update to a product (github) that threads a needle between implementing more functionality while preserving best-practices for content delivery, it's Microsoft. And yet, they've chosen to roll out an undeniable degradation in service to the production site. It's just kind of baffling.