Re: Issue 2: Horizontal Rule properties

E. Stephen Mack wrote:
> ...  I realize that NOSHADE is not
> deprecated in HTML 4.0 because there is no equivalent
> CSS1 property (yet?)

Shading should be definable through the use of colored borders. For
example, light borders at left and top, dark borders at bottom and
right = 3-D effect.

Ideally, the border colors will abut diagonally, like a picture frame:
   ___________________________
  | ____________light________/|
  | |                       | |
  | |_______________________| |
  |/____________dark__________|

but it doesn't really seem that any browser makers care enough to give
the very best.

> The best results were achieved with a head section containing:
> 
> <STYLE TYPE="text/css">
> HR.fancy { height: 10px; text-align: right; width: 50%; color: blue;
> margin-left: 50%; }
> </STYLE>

Again referring to the sample stylesheet in the CSS1 spec, HR is
defined as a block element with no content. Since it has no content,
color should have no effect. The color of the rule should be defined by
background and borders.

  +-----------------------border-top------------------------+
  +---------------------------------------------------------+
  |                       background                        |
  +---------------------------------------------------------+
  +-----------------------border-bottom---------------------+


IE is wrong to apply the color property to a rule. From 5.3.1 of the
spec: "This property describes the text color of an element." The rule
is not a text element.

This _should_ get the rule you want:

STYLE TYPE="text/css">
HR.fancy {
     background: transparent;
     border: 0;
     margin: 0;
     border-top: 10px solid blue;
     margin-left: 50%; }
> </STYLE>

By declaring HR block, an author could define some very fancy rules
with minimal markup using background images and different color
borders. Provided, of course, height is a valid property.

The results you are getting are very disheartening, as was a recent
attempt to use CSS1-defined rules with NSN4.01.

David Perrell