"Websockets: Everyone uses socket.io and for good reason." This is stated as a fact, but I really just think it is a case of this was the only choice for a lon

"Websockets: Everyone uses socket.io and for good reason." This is stated as a fact, but I really just think it is a case of this was the only choice for a long time. I'd like to know the reason, because I don't think there is a clear one here. Other than socket.io couples a ton of baked in functionality, what's the benefit of it over sock.js or just native websockets?