In Germany, a government service is considered digital when there is an online form where you can enter the data. Afterward, it doesn't matter if you must print it out and send it via postal services (no kidding); all that is required is an online form.
I don't know why many HN users don't like SPAs but I don't know any sites where I have a problem with it from a user perspective. IMHO there are far more badly designed sites. From a developer side it is a completely different story, due to the added complexity and I get it if someone doesn't want to build an SPA/PWA.
However, I would take any SPA any day, compared to what the German government offers...
I on the contrary applaud whoever built the new citizenship application form as HTML. It saved state money and users time. I’m quite sure it would have taken longer and worked worse if it was a SPA built by the gov. contractors.
But what value does an HTML form alone have? Compared to the old offline version, you have more trouble authenticating before filling it out (which isn't worth anything because you have to sign it anyway...).
I don't know why many HN users don't like SPAs but I don't know any sites where I have a problem with it from a user perspective. IMHO there are far more badly designed sites. From a developer side it is a completely different story, due to the added complexity and I get it if someone doesn't want to build an SPA/PWA.
However, I would take any SPA any day, compared to what the German government offers...