The MINOR functionality of "this" is an improvement at times, but more often than not it isn't a sufficient change to warrant the PAINFULLY CRYPTIC and often outright vague syntax.

In that way it's not an improvement, it's a bunch of people screaming "wah wah, eye dunz wunnu type a hole wurd!".

Though it could just be my programming background gives me a very different opinion of C syntax languages and what constitutes cryptic and obfuscated code. I spent a decade working in Ada... it gives you a very different perspective on things.

A perspective where a lot of the changes to the already cryptic and ugly hack that is JavaScript is only getting worse, with Arrow functions and over-scoping leading the charge.

I swear it feels like the ECMA won't be happy until JavaScript code looks like brainf***. We're already halfway to server-side JS code looking like IOCCC winners.

Overall there seems to be this attitude across the JavaScript "ecosystem" of "Code clarity? Who the f*** needs that?!?".

... and that words like "ecosystem" are being applied should be reason enough to run; it means the bullshit bingo marketing sleaze are taking over.