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Re: Layout Revision Proposal: CSS and then some

From: Jon Wallis <cm1906@ccug.wlv.ac.uk>
Date: Mon, 24 Nov 1997 09:57:38 +0000
To: Andrew n marshall <amarshal@usc.edu>, www-multimedia@w3.org
Message-Id: <E0xZvGt-0007gd-00@ccug.wlv.ac.uk>
www-multimedia@w3.org, 

On 23 Nov 97, you wrote:

> I think it is a reasonable assumption that the majority of content
> developers have at least some design background, and their
> expectations of their tools will reflect this background.  

With respect, this is a very dangerous and naive assumption.  The 
very history of the web shows this.  Originally HTML was aimed at 
people who wanted to *structure* information (i.e., use it 
properly).  Then it got (ab)used by a far greater number of people 
who wanted layout/presentation control.  If/when SMIL gets 
released/taken up by Netscape/MS, it will be probably be used by far 
more people without a design background than with one - just as HTML 
is used by far more people with no knowledge of SGML or document 
structuring than with.  

--
Jon Wallis                                 Senior Lecturer in Computing
School of Computing & I.T., University of Wolverhampton, WV1 1SB  -  UK
Phone/Fax:+44 (0)1902 321481/321491  http://www.scit.wlv.ac.uk/~cm1906/
-My opinions are not necessarily those of my employer (and vice versa)-
Received on Monday, 24 November 1997 04:58:05 GMT

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