I block JS by default until I get at least a basic understanding what the site wants to do. So I explicitly choose not to execute their code before I have some reason to trust the site.
> Untrue. It just so happened that the early web was a collection of static documents, and js was a hack to add some trivial functionality.
And yet every browser has a "view source" button and extensive developer tools to give users the ability to both inspect as well as change what the website is doing. Not to mention extension ecosystems that are all about tampering with website code.
> ...and hampers innovation.
Given how the web platform is still going strong after 30 years and in fact is one of the dominant and fastest-innovating software ecosystems today, it evidently didn't.
Actually, "view source" can be a driver of innovation by giving novices an easy way so see and experiment with real-world code and a way for the broader community to quickly learn from each other's mistakes: https://blog.codinghorror.com/the-power-of-view-source/