Re: Why authors are using Transitional (and target="_blank")

On 22/02/2008, Justin James <j_james@mindspring.com> wrote:
>
> Sam –
> You have not addressed the issue at all. To simplify it: "why is a
> document specification referring to application level events?" I believe
> that the HTML spec needs to be de-application-i-fied (wow, I just made up a
> horrid word there) so that Lynx, printers, search engines, etc. *are*
> considered full user agents. The fact is, any document which counts on user
> input or interactivity in order to be displayed correctly is not a
> "document", it is serialized application state.


I don't think the issue you are referring to (de-application-ifying HTML, as
you put it) was the primary topic of the thread. Nonetheless, I did, to some
extent, address it by referring to the relevant precedents set by previous
HTML (& related) specs.

So, do we want HTML to be a *document* standard, or do we want it to be an
> *application state serialization* standard? I believe HTML should be a
> *document* standard (BTW: I *do* want to see mouse events removed from the
> HTML spec), not a method of serializing application state. It is the only
> way to guarantee accessibility to the handicapped, preserve
> internationalization/globalization possibilities, and allow for innovative
> ways of consuming HTML. The future of application that creatively work with
> the data within HTML documents is jeopardized when the documents require
> user input to have data (or the right data) in the document. I do not want a
> future where Web browsers being used by humans are the only applications
> that actually receive the content, as opposed to a meaningless (to a
> non-human) stream of event handlers that then trigger the transmission of
> the actual content.
> J.Ja


If that's how you feel about HTML, the retention of target="_blank" is
probably one of the least of your problems.* It certainly doesn't affect
whether the HTML file in which it appears is a "document" or a "serialised
application state", as you put it (although I can't say I fully agree with
the distinction you draw between the two).

Regards,

Sam

*For instance, the APIs <http://www.w3.org/TR/html5-diff/#apis> that are
likely to be introduced in HTML5 are specifically designed to
"application-ify" HTML.