A Critical Discussion of React and Spas with Alex Russell and Theo Browne

Alex Russell[1] was an early member of the Chrome team, a 3-time elected member to the W3C Technical Architecture Group from 2013 - 2019, and a representative to TC39 from 2006 - 2017. Lately he has been very critical of Single-page Apps (SPAs) and React, going so far as to call the past 10 years a "lost decade"[2].

If a random person were to say these things, we could almost certainly ignore them. But when someone with these credentials feels this strongly about a technology, we should consider the argument, and try to understand the thought process that resulted in these conclusions. Unfortunately, these criticisms have largely gone unchallenged — perhaps due in part to the medium in which they are mostly found (Twitter), which doesn't exactly facilitate nuance and empathy.

Fortunately, this is where in-person events thrive. We can bring two people together who have different experiences, opinions, and perspectives, and have a civil conversation to bridge understanding, increase empathy, and establish brightlines. Theo Browne[3] is one person who does not shy away from controversy, and we are delighted to feature him as the person taking up this mantle, to discuss the merits & limitations of single-page applications and, more specifically, React.

[1] https://twitter.com/slightlylate & https://infrequently.org/ [2] https://twitter.com/slightlylate/status/1583157448885514240 [3] https://twitter.com/t3dotgg & https://www.youtube.com/@t3dotgg