7 ms·
Is JavaScript is now evil?
by elbowjack65 2y ago
Is JavaScript is now evil?
- bmacho 2y agoIt uses a lot of data, it is a security risk, it is a privacy risk, and it forces you to throw away your old devices.
- victorbjorklund 2y agohow much extra data does JS on google use vs without JS? We must be talking about kb that are probably also cached.
- bmacho 2y agoI personally use a free (and small) mobile data plan, so that several MB/search would make me pay infinite times more. I switched to DDG.
- KronisLV 2y agoOn the average site JS will add anywhere from hundreds of KB to over a MB of data to download: https://httparchive.org/reports/state-of-javascript#bytesJs https://httparchive.org/reports/state-of-javascript#bytesJs Especially when it’s foundational to how the site runs, e.g. the typical way how Vue, React or Angular are used.
- kilpikaarna 2y agoYes.
- Hamuko 2y agoAlways has been.
- gunian 2y agoIf you had to estimate percentage of the web could exist without losing functionality without using JavaScript?
- croes 2y agoIf you had to estimate the percentage of the malicious web without JavaScript.
- gunian 2y agoI only know of JavaScript / Spectre combo are there tales of other evils lurking in the great wild?
- deleted 2y ago[deleted]
- jazzyjackson 2y agoJust fyi the entire browsing and checkout process of Amazon.com works fine without JavaScript, discovering that radicalized me against so called web apps. it just takes actually reading the html spec and maintaining state in the querystring or via session cookie. Latency can be lower than the monstrosities people build with react in the right circumstances.
- EvanAnderson 2y agoMy phones have had JavaScript off by default for years. I'm amazed by how many sites work fine and are pleasurable to use.
- deleted 2y ago[deleted]
- deleted 2y ago[deleted]
- user3939382 2y agoIt is in Google’s hands
- pluc 2y agoThere's absolutely no need for JavaScript on a page that has a text input and two buttons and that has worked without JS for three decades. Given Google's reputation for privacy and the constant attempts at selling their users out, it's fair to assume that the reason they're requiring JavaScript is not noble.
- bolognafairy 2y agoOkay. But is it evil?
- _Algernon_ 2y agoYes
- jazzyjackson 2y agoIt's a well intentioned bolt on for adding reactivity without reloading the page, but it's been hijacked by the ad industrial complex to keep tabs on your behavior for people who do not have your best interests in mind. that usage of it, I would say, qualifies for a weak definition of evil.
- eth0up 2y agoWhether it's evil or not is a difficult question. I'd say it's at least as bad as satan, considering we can actually confirm its existence. But that it arose naturally from this grotesque universe means it is a valid part of things. Maybe it is we who are evil and it that punishes us.
- KronisLV 2y agoFor argument's sake, yes, unironically: https://www.gnu.org/philosophy/javascript-trap.html https://www.gnu.org/philosophy/javascript-trap.html In contrast, this is less evil: https://www.gnu.org/software/librejs/ https://www.gnu.org/software/librejs/ But as usual, nobody really cares because it’s also useful and convenient, even if there’s a bunch of ad crap and fingerprinting and tracking and other stuff, basically taking away more and more control over how you want to consume the contents of a site, same as DRM. Contrast that to a static site (or a server side rendered one to a lesser degree) which is more like a newspaper - if you have it, you can read it, cut out bits that you’re interested in, stash them away for safe keeping etc. The more nuanced answer is that most technologies aren’t inherently evil or good but it depends on how they’re used. Even then the answer still leans towards “yes”.
- spwa4 2y agoJavascript is like Flash-lite. Is it evil? No. It's great, even. What every last commercial site uses it for IS evil, without a doubt.
- inopinatus 2y agoIt's literally almost an anagram of Satan's Armpits.
- Xelbair 2y agoYeah, roughly since 1996.
- seanhunter 2y agoJavascript has always been evil.
- kragen 2y agoNo, limiting user freedom as to whether or not to use it is.