Prefix for http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/ in RDFa Initial Context?

Dear RDFa WG,

Currently, the prefixes "dc:" and "dcterms:" are both mapped in the RDFa
Initial Context to the namespace URI http://purl.org/dc/terms/ (here:
"/terms/") [1].  

It has been pointed out that a considerable amount of data uses, or maps to,
DCMI properties with the namespace URI http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/ (here:
"/1.1/"), which in other contexts has traditionally been mapped to the prefix
"dc:".  

Most of the /terms/ properties have ranges restricted to either literal or
non-literal values, while the /1.1/ properties are rangeless (rdfs:Resource by
default) -- a characteristic some users see as an advantage (see [2]).

DCMI would like to propose to the RDFa Working Group that the prefix "dc11:" be
added to the Initial Context for the /1.1/ namespace URI.  

People who have used "dc:" for /1.1/ properties will need to explicitly declare
this as a prefix.  However, for those who continue to use /1.1/ properties --
in some cases, precisely because they are rangeless -- inclusion in the Initial
Context would emphasize that /1.1/ has not been forgotten or deprecated,
reinforce the message that /1.1/ properties should not be "upgraded" to /terms/
properties in a mechanical way, and provide a conventional prefix to use for
the properties.

Many thanks for your consideration,
Tom

[1] http://www.w3.org/2011/rdfa-context/rdfa-1.1
[2] http://wiki.dublincore.org/index.php/FAQ/DC_and_DCTERMS_Namespaces

-- 
Tom Baker <tom@tombaker.org>
Dublin Core Metadata Initiative Ltd

Received on Tuesday, 20 November 2012 21:25:28 UTC