'''Maybe we should just give up on the term REST, since it’s become so diluted as to mean nothing more than "HTTP API that’s not as hard to use as SOAP"?'''
To be fair, I thought we were at this point already. It seems safer to assume that when one advertises a "RESTful API" they are really referring to a "REST-like" API which basically means "Hey, we don't use sessions!"
While I believe that the term is already diluted to that point, I still think it's valid to point out when people are doing it wrong.
It's diluted for sure, but it still carries a strict interpretation that is worthwhile and that some of us are still using.
My main problem with its dilution is that it's usually totally meaningless -- usually other terms like RPC or just plain old "proper HTTP" accurately describe what someone is calling REST, to there point where its supposed RESTfulness can be nothing more than for the sake of buzzword compliance.
To be fair, I thought we were at this point already. It seems safer to assume that when one advertises a "RESTful API" they are really referring to a "REST-like" API which basically means "Hey, we don't use sessions!"
While I believe that the term is already diluted to that point, I still think it's valid to point out when people are doing it wrong.