I thought "REST" was primarily successful at first because it was a reaction to the overblown XML mess in the early 2000s (that's the "X" in XHR, even though no

I thought "REST" was primarily successful at first because it was a reaction to the overblown XML mess in the early 2000s (that's the "X" in XHR, even though nobody uses it for that any more). I never understood why it became dogmatic though. Arguing for practicality over dogma seems like a losing battle, even in this industry where people are supposed to be relatively practical. I guess that's human nature :-/