I don't think there is universal agreement on what the better alternatives are. If there were, comments like these would list them. There are however worse examples for desktop development never the less used on the desktop like VBA, java, adobe air, scala.

As with so many choices, there is a trade off. If it were possible to point to some system that is unambiguously better on all axes than javascript and its ecosystem, then you'd have a point, but since there isn't, we're back to arguing trade offs, and really, getting upset about the tools other people choose to make things is a pretty fruitless use of time and energy. If people really want to encourage others to move, they'd be better evangelising the solutions they love than berating people for choosing what they choose.

ES6 is better.

[edit] ES6 is definitely better than a swift kick in the groin. It is certainly better than the original version of javascript. And it is also better than a lobotomy.

ES6 is definitely a better Javascript. But whether it's better than other languages on the server (or desktop) side is the question. But maybe by ES10 it will be.

Better than....? A swift kick to the groin? Original Javascript? Lobotomies?

"Better" doesn't necessarily imply "Good".