I’m tired of JavaScript. Yeah, yeah, yeah, it can do some cool stuff. It gives us desktop like apps on the web. But it’s primarily a burden. Web sites take ages to load downloading huge scripts, then parsing those scripts, then running those scripts. And when that’s done, the site still feel slow. Every minor interaction causes more code execution and more background web requests.
Some web sites require and earn the right for the JavaScript they run. Legitimate desktop app replacements like the Google Docs suite come to mind. The functionally provided in a web browser is unattainable without JavaScript. I’m okay ceding the argument to the complex apps that demand the use of JavaScript. I have a harder time getting behind sites that would function just as well without it.
I browse the internet primarily with JavaScript disabled by default and enable it selectively. When I visit a site that fails to load without JavaScript, I decide whether I trust the site and desire the content it’s serving enough to enable JavaScript. If the scale tips one way I click the back button, the other direction, and I enable it. It’s disheartening to see sites refuse to load without JavaScript that could be just as functional (and faster) serving only HTML and CSS.
I feel the argument for less JavaScript is a slightly lost cause but I stand behind it. Not every site requires a complex JavaScript framework to do its job. The majority of sites don’t need it and they’d be better off without it.