Re: <spoiler> element

Jeremy,

I find it tempting to add the suggested <spoiler> to XHTML 2. I agree
that its use of "show this content only when activated by the user" is
generic enough to be handled by a XHTML element. I agree that the  CSS
+scripting solution is by far not good enough. And I have to say that
@role is not a solution at all:
It might offer a way to tell what the 'spoiler' is. But it is not a way
for an author to clearly tell a browser how to act on the element marked
@role="x:spoiler", given that scripting/CSS might not work as intended
on the UA that renders the page (custom style sheets, no scripting etc).

I have to say, though, that HTML always offered the very generic "show
this content only when activated by the user"-element:
<a href="http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/struct/links.html#h-12.2">Click
here only if you want to read which element it is.</a>

This is as generic as can be - and as specific as we can allow,
probably. It is not the sophisticated "show within the current
page"-solution you want. It does not fully cover all use cases:
Disturbing medical photos within a scientific text should probably be
shown right within the paragraph that describes them, not on a separate
page. But that would be <show-disturbing-medical-pictures>, not just
<spoiler> ;-)

Regards,
Oskar



Am Dienstag, den 06.12.2005, 17:48 -0600 schrieb Jeremy Rand:
> I have a suggestion for an element which could be included in XHTML 2.
> This is a <spoiler> element.  This element would have the content of a
> <spoildesc> element, and a <spoilcontent> element.  The behavior would
> be that when the user agent encounters a <spoiler> element, it should
> render the content of its <spoildesc>, and provide a way for the user to
> activate the <spoiler>.  Once the <spoiler> is activated, the user agent
> should show the content of the <spoilcontent>.
> 
> This would be useful in many situations where the user might not want to
> see certain content.  Examples are:
> 
> Spoilers of the plot of a book or movie
> Offensive language
> Disturbing medical photos
> Pornographic or otherwise not-safe-for-work content
> The answer to a riddle
> Content with flashing lights that could cause epileptic seizures
> 
> I'm sure there are more examples of uses for <spoiler>, but I can't
> think of any more right now.
> 
> An example of its usage would be:
> 
> <p>Did you hear about the cement mixer that ran over Batman and Robin?</p>
> <p><spoiler>
> <spoildesc>Activate to see punchline.</spoildesc>
> <spoilcontent>It created two new superheroes: Flatman and
> Ribbon.</spoilcontent>
> </spoiler></p>
> 
> I know <spoiler> isn't a very good name for it, since there are other
> uses as well, but I can't think of a better name.  I know that <spoiler>
> is implemented into a forum-hosting site's posting system (I can't
> remember which site); it just displays the content of <spoiler> in
> identical foreground and background colors so that you must select the
> text to read it.  Also, I realize that this could be done using either
> scripting or links, but I think links are inappropriate, since the
> content is part of the original document.  I think scripting is
> inappropriate, since this has semantic meaning, so I think it should be
> a standard XHTML element.
> 
> Does this proposal sound good?
> 
> Thanks,
> Jeremy Rand
> 
> PS: Norton E-mail Proxy says this message didn't send properly, so I'm 
> sending it again.  Apologies if anyone receives two copies.
> 
> 
>

Received on Wednesday, 7 December 2005 13:52:39 UTC