> Why the hell crap technologies dominate all the time?
It's because you're not looking at the bigger picture. The technology doesn't matter. It's all about the players.
Most people don't want to install something to "test out your new game" with. Even Steam is a higher barrier to entry than a web browser--and that's just a single download. Give players minimum resistance to play your game and you'll have more players.
Sharing is also huge. With browsers, it's trivial. Other systems, you need more context. More instructions. More work for the players who just want to share their experience. Or even better, for developers. "Hey, check out my new game: http://my.new/game. It's buggy, but what do you think about the controls so far?" Zero friction to sharing. Zero friction to playing.
Portability is also big. But I think in cases like JavaScript, that's more a consequence of not having to install anything.
It's because you're not looking at the bigger picture. The technology doesn't matter. It's all about the players.
Most people don't want to install something to "test out your new game" with. Even Steam is a higher barrier to entry than a web browser--and that's just a single download. Give players minimum resistance to play your game and you'll have more players.
Sharing is also huge. With browsers, it's trivial. Other systems, you need more context. More instructions. More work for the players who just want to share their experience. Or even better, for developers. "Hey, check out my new game: http://my.new/game. It's buggy, but what do you think about the controls so far?" Zero friction to sharing. Zero friction to playing.
Portability is also big. But I think in cases like JavaScript, that's more a consequence of not having to install anything.