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Re:Discourse Is Not Going Closed Source by chrismorgan on Friday April 17, 2026 @12:11AM (#47802387)
> Large parts of it are delivered straight into the user’s browser on every request: JavaScript, …

Ooh, now I want to try convincing people to return from JS-heavy single-page apps to multi-page apps using normal HTML forms and minimal JS only to enhance what already works without it—in the name of security.

(C’mon, let a bloke dream.)

Re:Discourse Is Not Going Closed Source by ironmagma on Friday April 17, 2026 @12:28AM (#47802452)
There are a lot of things to hate in the Web3 world. Lack of back button form resubmission or redirect loops is a strange thing to dislike though.
Re:Discourse Is Not Going Closed Source by kelsey98765431 on Friday April 17, 2026 @12:51AM (#47802534)
The web has grown so hostile lately that javascript is honestly not safe or useful anymore. the only thing it's used for is serving ads and trackers and paywalls, if i can't read a website with no script enabled it's not meant for me and im just not reading it.
Re:Discourse Is Not Going Closed Source by bruce511 on Friday April 17, 2026 @01:03AM (#47802588)
I concur that most web sites could use less JavaScript. And a lot of (but not all) cosmetic uses for JavaScript can be done in CSS.

Of course for web apps (as distinct from web sites) most of what we do would be impossible without JavaScript. Infinite scrolling, maps (moving and zooming), field validation on entry, asynchronous page updates, web sockets, all require JavaScript.

Of course JavaScript is abused. But it's clearly safe and useful when used well.

Re:Discourse Is Not Going Closed Source by sebbadk on Friday April 17, 2026 @02:29AM (#47803016)
Infinite scrolling is JavaScript abuse. Pagination is much better for letting people keep track of their progress and time.
Re:Discourse Is Not Going Closed Source by bruce511 on Friday April 17, 2026 @02:30PM (#47809053)
Infinite scrolling is just a feature. It can be used for good or evil.
Re:Discourse Is Not Going Closed Source by LorenDB on Friday April 17, 2026 @09:40AM (#47805851)
> web apps

See, that's where we went wrong. IMO the web is for web sites. Co-opting the browser for full applications has led to the significant degradement of modern software. If we must have a "write once, run anywhere" approach for modern development, can we at least use WASM bytecode and build a dedicated runtime that doesn't use the browser for GUI output?

Re:Discourse Is Not Going Closed Source by bruce511 on Friday April 17, 2026 @02:34PM (#47809079)
You are of course entitled to your opinion. And you're free to code apps for any platform or language you like.

Clearly though the world is using the web platform for writing applications. And I for one like the fact I can book a car, buy a secondhand book, or leave a restaurant review from a generic place that just works on all my devices.

Re:Discourse Is Not Going Closed Source by thunderfork on Saturday April 18, 2026 @06:49PM (#47820228)
HTML does provide the ability to use some client-side form validation without JavaScript.

https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Learn_web_developme...

Not saying your broader point is incorrect, but useful to know.