[thih9]

> The web should work without JavaScript.

Says who? Perhaps popular platforms like twitter or instagram should support UX based on texting instead of requiring apps. Perhaps emails should be readable plaintext and without images. I could go on.

I love all of these ideas in theory; but in practice the ship seems to have sailed - and in a different direction.

I guess it's a mixture of primordial enshittification and old people reminiscing about good old days.

[skydhash]

The only time that javascript is required are when you need some element that is stateful accross data loading (maps, audio player, chat,…) or the action would return essentially the same data with a few difference (voting, autocomplete). There are also some components still missing from the web spec like carrousel (you can probably do some css wizardry) and a calendar widget.

But the current state that wants us to download js files that are bigger that the epub format of War and Peace? Not essential.

[thih9]

> But the current state that wants us to download js files that are bigger that the epub format of War and Peace? Not essential.

Absolutely essential if you want to deliver a large, extensible website (requiring teams of front end and back end devs) with modern UX in a cost efficient way.

[ericyd]

I added a very similar comment before I saw yours. I guess I can also look forward to being downvoted for having a different opinion.