[Bug 24047] New: Define or link to a definition of the word "non-normative" and possibly the word "normative"

https://www.w3.org/Bugs/Public/show_bug.cgi?id=24047

            Bug ID: 24047
           Summary: Define or link to a definition of the word
                    "non-normative" and possibly the word "normative"
           Product: HTML WG
           Version: unspecified
          Hardware: PC
                OS: All
            Status: NEW
          Keywords: a11y
          Severity: normal
          Priority: P2
         Component: HTML Image Description Extension
          Assignee: chaals@yandex-team.ru
          Reporter: laura.lee.carlson@gmail.com
        QA Contact: public-html-bugzilla@w3.org
                CC: public-html-admin@w3.org

Hi Chaals,

Students have been confused by the term "non-normative" in this spec and are
citing sources such as thefreedictionary.com which defines nonnormative as:

"nonnormative- not based on a norm
[Related Words] nonstandard - varying from or not adhering to a
standard;"

As a result some get the wrong idea that the informative examples and use cases
do not adhere to the spec. 

I have clarified in class by saying that the informative or non-normative parts
of the specification are meant to provide helpful information and guidance. For
instance examples are typically used to assist in the understanding or use of
any given specification. They are not required for conformance. They should
think of non-normative parts of a spec as informational. In contrast the
normative parts of a the specification are the criteria for conformance and are
associated with RFC2119 keywords such as "MUST" and "SHOULD" and "MAY".
Conformance to a standard means that you meet or satisfy the requirements of
the standard.

Anyway, defining the term "non-normative" (and "normative" too) or linking to
good definition(s) would be helpful for people to understand the term(s) in W3C
usage. 

I know that the W3C WAI Education and Outreach Working Group is in the process
of drafting a basic glossary.
http://www.w3.org/WAI/glossary/basic.html#nonnorm
If that gets finished you could link to it.

Thank you for your consideration.

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Received on Tuesday, 10 December 2013 13:38:38 UTC