- From: Roy T. Fielding <fielding@gbiv.com>
- Date: Tue, 3 May 2005 01:17:00 -0700
- To: ht@inf.ed.ac.uk (Henry S. Thompson)
- Cc: www-tag <www-tag@w3.org>
[Ambiguity: is not a problem, Differentiation: yes, Signal: whatever context is available] Ambiguity allows statements to be made in finite time. It is inherent in every mode of distributed communication that involves terms, even when those terms are centrally defined, because terms are also given meaning through decentralized use over time. Maintaining an agreed upon meaning is a hard problem and a central element of standards -- it cannot be declared by fiat. To make unambiguous statements requires that all nodes of the graph are unambiguous OR that all relations are sufficiently disambiguating (alone or in concert) such that the ambiguity of subject and object identifiers are resolved. I'd rather folks spend more time thinking about the relations being described rather than trying to force every human being in the world to use URIs in a single, unambiguous way. ....Roy
Received on Tuesday, 3 May 2005 08:17:17 UTC