Re: Cleaning House

Henri Sivonen wrote:

>> It's /really/ not difficult to explain to someone that a stretch
>> of text is to be emboldened /for a reason/.
> 
> It doesn't follow that authors feel the need to make the reason explicit 
> in the data format.

No, they don't feel the need; that is why accessibility remains
such a problem on the web.  Our challenge is to ensure that
they /do/ feel the need, and the simplest way of achieving
this is by removing the <b> button and offering a simple
way of introducing semantic markup in its place.

> Previously, you have shown what looked like hostility towards taking the 
> browser vendor point of view as serious real-world constraints 
> (http://www.w3.org/mid/46361DDB.4040203@Rhul.Ac.Uk). 

> Now you seem to be willing to ignore the needs of the WYSIWYG editor 
 > writers. Who do you  expect to implement your vision?

If it is solely my vision, then either myself or no-one.  Since
there would be little point my creating a tool that no-one else
would use, then in reality no-one.  But I am not asking anyone
to implement my vision : I am asking this group to /consider/
my vision (which I am certain that others share), and ask themselves
whether it represents /their/ vision of what HTML (and the web)
should be.  If they /do/ agree that it is closer to their vision
than the current WHATWG proposals, then all I ask is that they
offer support for the ideas.  Once we can agree on what the
best route forward is, we will be in a better position to
liaise with browser implementors, editor implementors and so on.
At the moment, the WHATWG position seems to place far more importance
on maintaining the /status quo/ than it does on identifying
a worthwhile aim for the future.  My hostility (if it is really
that : I see it more as frustration) is aimed at that position
rather than at any group of individuals.

Philip Taylor

Received on Thursday, 3 May 2007 15:53:02 UTC