Re: [W3C] Draft Mobile Web BPWG / comments

>On WML:
>
>This is a tricky one. We do actually want WML to be transformed to WMLC.

This means you want to recode from WML to WBMXL, but not to 
restructure -- and indeed, I have seen restructurings of WML
code by proxies whose outcome was next to unusable.

>On Copyright:
>...
>Indeed, when authoring HTML, the author cannot have a precise view of 
>the visual form of their work because intentionally, and by their 
>nature, Web browsers do not set out to provide identical experiences. 

Actually, the variation of representations is fundamentally grounded
on a specification: HTML 4.0.1 is littered with warnings that it does
not prescribe an exact representation of specific constructs and that
client programs may take different decisions as to how to handle HTML
constructs (including modalities like graphical vs. textual vs. audio
browsers). That is the standard, and as such developers and content
providers cannot complain of differences in representation within the
scope of the standard.

It is a completely different matter to perform transformations that
are outside the scope of the standard, and in particular the whole 
gambit of inserting ads, links to extraneous content, logos, and in 
general media that was not present there in the first place, like is 
occurring disturbingly more frequently nowadays. 

Observe that an increasing number of corporate and commercial WWW
sites include copyright notices, basically stating: "We developed this
content. It belongs to us. No derivative works allowed." The presence
of a copyright meta-tag in the original content is indicative of such
intended restrictions and should therefore be properly taken into account.


E. Casais

Received on Tuesday, 5 August 2008 17:34:25 UTC