<i>&quot;the existential crisis it entails&quot;</i><p>The XML years were some pretty dark times. Pointing out the obvious wasn&#x27;t appreciated. And so this too shall pass.<p>I&#x27;m super duper impressed by what people accomplish with HTML + CSS + JS. But, wow, the effort involved. Like pushing rope. Drinking the ocean. Juggling plates during a riot. Ironing a shirt while someone&#x27;s hosing you down with a water cannon.<p>And the bit rot. Turn around twice and your crap has stopped working. It&#x27;s worse than anything I experienced doing Windows development.<p>But maybe the constant renewal, the need for constant energy investment to counter entropy, maybe that&#x27;s the virtue of &quot;web development&quot;. It certainly prevents any status quo from forming.