The Anti-JavaScript Conspiracy

THE GOOD
- JavaScript is adopted in every significant browser, and as so it is one of the most popular programming languages in the world.
- JavaScript is a good programming language. Most developers agree with this. It's down to earth, has a good enough feature set, implements good concepts from both the object oriented and functional programming mindsets.

THE BAD
- JavaScript is incomplete. Several functional programming features that'd make sense in it are lacking.
- JavaScript is insecure. There's no module system, it's impossible to encapsulate things properly.
- JavaScript is browser only. The lack of a decent standard pushes people away from server-side and compiled JavaScript.

THE UGLY
- Million dollar companies are interested in million dollar franchises. Java, C# make a lot of money for a lot of people.
- Companies are shit-scared of anything they can't control. Even if their product is good and everybody wants to use it, it must be their product. It is no wonder C++ isn't nearly as popular as it was a few years ago. C++ wasn't Sun's, wasn't Microsoft's, wasn't Adobe's; it was Bjarne's.
- The number of JavaScript developers is growing exponentially. The more people use the Internet, the more JavaScript developers show up. What if they decise to use their dear language in their desktop applications? Who could stop them? What would be the faith of Java and .NET?
- JavaScript is, at the same time, both a free language (because it's easy to implement and widely adopted in browsers, the commonest pieces of software today) and a controlled one (the ECMA standard obeys the decisions of giant corporate players).

CONNECT THE DOTS.

There are enough open sourced implementations, that you can do what you want with the language.
I can do anything with any language. But what's the point if it's just me?

Languages survive just fine without being controlled by companies. They may not get heavily marketed, or have payed support, but people that care use them.
Yes, and that is the case for Ruby. But JavaScript is different, because (unlike Ruby) it was born in the corporate world and then subsequently handicapped by the same corporate world. It is one thing for a language not to get any marketing, it is another for a language to get intentionally deceptive marketing.

I can't say I'm a big fan of what Adobe is doing with ActionScript(ECMAScript-based), they seem to be moving it away from Scheme and more toward Java. I suspect this is due to performance reasons, but I wouldn't know.
They're doing it to make it more like Java.

I don't get it? What is the 'conspiracy'? Everyone just moves in the direction they want.
The truth is out there, man.