[Bug 25645] New: Not a bug - a disaster! Cement the semantics!

https://www.w3.org/Bugs/Public/show_bug.cgi?id=25645

            Bug ID: 25645
           Summary: Not a bug - a disaster! Cement the semantics!
           Product: HTML WG
           Version: unspecified
          Hardware: PC
                OS: Windows NT
            Status: NEW
          Severity: blocker
          Priority: P2
         Component: HTML5 spec
          Assignee: dave.null@w3.org
          Reporter: hans.loepfe@gmail.com
        QA Contact: public-html-bugzilla@w3.org
                CC: mike@w3.org, public-html-admin@w3.org,
                    public-html-wg-issue-tracking@w3.org

We all know it too well - meanwhile for a long time!
Still today (2014-MAY-09) the latest specs-draft specifically warns:

"the outline algorithm cannot be relied upon"
(source: http://www.w3.org/html/wg/drafts/html/master/sections.html#outlines)

To me it appears as if there are lots of exceptionally skilled professional
craftsmen trying to cover the roof of a house at a time when beams carrying the
roof aren't put in place yet.

What the heck is going on?

Please excuse my total incompetence in the specific field of establishing a new
spec, but - and I believe many agree - that this process cannot go on forever
without running the risk that nobody will ever apply it once (if) it ever gets
done.

Please establish and commit a solid outline (foundation of the house) so that
we can start to build upon. At this point, any debate over the flower colors
decorating the house is futil.

Cement the semantics (!) by taking a few grand news papers as a base (with
dated, static text and images), then watch a Harry Potter movie and observe a
book reading scene where images become alive (video = images and sound)) and
sometimes them living images become the continuation of the story or even lead
to new stories. I'd assume that the described spectrum covers some 85+% of the
use cases.

Today we can only be sure that the outline of a book by its table of contents
will probably remain in the spec, anything other is subject to change (=varying
the foundation) leading this consortium to pronounce that "the outline
algorithm cannot be relied upon"!

So what are the very good reason(s) for taking the effort to apply proper
semantics today?

Please be honest the answer is 'practically none' and 'theoretically many' for
the simple reason stated by this consortium: "the outline algorithm cannot be
relied upon"!
(q.e.d.)

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Received on Friday, 9 May 2014 21:40:23 UTC