> I think this sets a concerning precedent for future deprecations, where parts of the web platform are rugpulled from developers because it's convenient for the browser vendors.

The precedent was already set when they tried to remove alert/prompt. See https://dev.to/richharris/stay-alert-d and https://css-tricks.com/choice-words-about-the-upcoming-depre...

Only a large public outcry stopped them, barely.

To quote from the first link:

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Meanwhile, we don't seem to be learning from the past. If alert is fair game for removal, then so is every API we add to the platform if the web's future stewards deem it harmful.

Given Chrome's near-monopoly control of the browser market, I'm genuinely concerned about what this all means for the future of the web. An ad company shouldn't have this much influence over something that belongs to all of us. I don't know how to fix the standards process so that it's more representative of the diversity of the web's stakeholders, but I'm increasingly convinced that we need to figure it out.

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