>what is the actual cost incurred by the users here?
Time.
Every bit of JavaScript is more time to download, execute, and then render the page. Time is a valuable resource, users appreciate not being told to waste it.
>I think it's better to distribute the workload across clients.
The bulk of such loads should and ideally must be on servers, not clients. Use PHP, not JavaScript.
Also worth noting, the biggest motivator for JavaShit by far is the website owner(s) cutting costs. More load on the clients is more idling of the servers, the consequences of this will be homework left for the readers.
Time.
Every bit of JavaScript is more time to download, execute, and then render the page. Time is a valuable resource, users appreciate not being told to waste it.
>I think it's better to distribute the workload across clients.
The bulk of such loads should and ideally must be on servers, not clients. Use PHP, not JavaScript.
Also worth noting, the biggest motivator for JavaShit by far is the website owner(s) cutting costs. More load on the clients is more idling of the servers, the consequences of this will be homework left for the readers.