A form that requires JavaScript to submit is a form that fails when JavaScript does: on a slow connection, an old device, or a browser with a broken extension. Server-side forms work everywhere by default.
The pattern is progressive enhancement: the form posts to the server and works with no client code at all. JavaScript then layers on the improvements: inline validation, draft saving, and better feedback.
This isn't nostalgia for a simpler web. It's the recognition that the baseline has to work for everyone, and the enhancements are exactly that, enhancements.
