Re: less than normal importance/emphasis (was: several messages about <i> and many related subjects)

On Tue, Apr 15, 2008 at 11:26:35AM +0300, Mikko Rantalainen wrote:

> I'm still wondering if HTML5 should define an element for less than
> normal importance or emphasis.

  Possibly. It may be a little bit too fine-grained, but it is worth
  considering.


> So <small> means less important than normal (default) importance of
> plain text, if I've understood correctly when used outside <em> or

  No. This is a misunderstanding. The SMALL-element signify smaller
  text, visually. It has /no/ other meaning, and since the past usage
  is inconsistent, to say the least, we cannot give it any meaning.

  We /must/ stop thinking that the B-, I-, SMALL- or BIG-elements can
  be given /any/ meaning. It's not a productive way forward; only another
  step back.



> In the end, perhaps <small> should be used for de-emphasis of any
> content other than plain text. Parenthesis can then be used for
> de-emphasis of normal content.

  If we did that, then a huge amount of existing documents would suddenly
  have meaning where no meaning was meant to exist.

  It'll break stuff in a bad way. A new element for de-emphasis, yes,
  but no overload for SMALL. It's illogical and will create a mess.

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 -  Tina Holmboe      Developer's Archive           Greytower Technologies
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