Okay, I understand the distinction but as I said, it seems to be a distinction without a difference. The idea of REST has evolved beyond the initial definition

Okay, I understand the distinction but as I said, it seems to be a distinction without a difference. The idea of REST has evolved beyond the initial definition to include a broader and far more impactful meaning. The abstraction of UI over data. The important piece is the data. I could make an entire website, entry point and all that only returned json and included the links for actions users could take and other pages they could visit. Whether I use a browser to see that or my terminal with a cURL makes no difference.