Re: Let's talk strategy (was: Re: Web Reliability)

Steve H Rose <habib@world.std.com>
> If you think Netscape has been bad, just wait until the
> Microsoft machine  gets rolling...

Although Netscape has indeed been bad for HTML, it's *not* because  
of those inconsequential extensions everyone keeps harping on.  The  
real damage is a result of Netscape's releasing powerful viewing  
software without offering any correspondingly powerful authoring  
tools.

As thousands of uncertain novices wrote HTML by hand, tweaking  
their monstrosities until they finally looked OK in Netscape, the  
current mess was created.  In other words, a large fraction of the  
existing HTML pages are using *unofficial* HTML extensions implicit  
in the Netscape implementation.  It's those extensions -- not  
publicly specified stuff like <FONT> -- that have degraded the value  
of the HTML standard for new entrants into the Web software market.

The simple fact that Microsoft is pushing automatic authoring tools  
means they will have a positive impact.  At least the mistakes will  
be consistent. :-)

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Paul Burchard	<burchard@math.utah.edu>
``I'm still learning how to count backwards from infinity...''
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Received on Sunday, 30 July 1995 19:59:34 UTC