Re: Dropping <input usemap="">

Lachlan Hunt wrote:

> OK, I'll rephrase it.  Many sites that have used usemap="" on <input 
> type="image"> cease to function in browsers that implement the usemap 
> attribute on input elements.  Firefox and Opera are the only known 
> browsers that implement it, IE and Safari don't, and there are also no 
> known use cases for it to be on input elements.
> 
> Thus, including it would violate the Support Existing Content and Solve 
> Real Problems design principles, and so therefore it has been omitted. 

So are you arguing that the design of HTML 5 should be based,
in part, on a putative "need" to support sites that have used a
documented feature of HTML 4.01, yet which rely on that feature
not working as documented in some fraction of their visitor's
browsers ?  Are we really going to re-define the syntax and
semantics of HTML based on the contra-normative use of it by
a small number of seemingly perverse sites ?

I could perhaps accept the argument if it were based on
prevalence : for example, where > N% of randomly selected
sites, or > M pages, rely on such a feature, but to argue
it in the absence of well-defined N or M is (to my mind)
allowing the craziness of a small number of individuals
to outweigh the combined wisdom of all those who formulated
the specification for HTML 4.01 in the first place.

Philip TAYLOR

Received on Tuesday, 14 August 2007 17:01:18 UTC