Re: [Article] Web-Quality v1.1

On Tue, 24 Sep 2002, Olivier Thereaux wrote:

> Web hobbyists should not read W3C specifications, ...
> the standards are not for hobbyists to read.

Why not? To be precise, why should not base standards be simple enough
for a computer hobbyist to follow? I think that should be an ideal,
albeit not reachable, goal.

How does one determine whether the standard is too complex? One test
could be to check whether it is simple enough for a computer hobbyist
to understand.

You argue that hobbyists should use tools. When there are dozens of
popular operating systems and programming environments, finding a tool
that is both "good" and "works" in your environment is often not
possible, especially if you are not using MS Windows or Linux.

Ideally, I want to code simple, valid *ML using a text editor and
validate it using an on-line form on W3C Web site. I cannot do that
today using bleeding-edge W3C standards. I can only do that using old
standards that most on this list do not even consider standard enough!

> If you think you can help, please participate in the QA Interest
> Group, which reviews and discusses the framework.

Very good point! On the other hand, if Stephanie is not supposed to
_read_ standards, it is highly questionable whether she should be
encouraged to participate in _writing_ a framework for them. The
framework itself, BTW, is already more complex than a "hobbyist" would
want it to be, IMHO. Full circle.


I think the answer to Stephane's request is simple -- simple standards
cannot be created by an organization that has to balance conflicting
interests of hundreds of interested parties. If you want a simple
(hence, not backward compatible) *ML standard, create one and try to
convince others to use it. It worked when Tim Berners-Lee invented the
Web. Perhaps it was a miracle that was possible only due to a unique
demand/supply situation. Perhaps it will work again, but probably not.
If you do, and it works, please remember the lessons learned -- try to
keep it simple :-).

Thanks,

Alex.

Received on Monday, 23 September 2002 19:11:16 UTC