Re: [url] Requests for Feedback (was Feedback from TPAC)

On Dec 5, 2014, at 8:52 AM, Sam Ruby wrote:

> Mark, thanks for the support, but I think that this is a matter that needs a bit more clarity and wide review.
> 
> PLH, Wendy, as the official W3C liaisons[1] to the IETF, I asking you to officially request that the IETF take a position on this subject.

In order for the IETF to take a position on the subject, it would
require an Internet draft stating the position and an appropriate
public review.  Even so, at best what you would get is a bunch of
opinions on what might be a reasonable way forward.

IMO, a solution would be to just remove the bits of the URL spec
that say it redefines RFC3986 (because it doesn't), name the spec to
something reasonable (like "URL Object and Processing References in HTML"),
and then complete the work you have started on making the parsing
algorithm for references more closely reflect deployed implementations.
I don't think the IETF protocols that depend on RFC3986 would have
any problem with such a document, and it would satisfy the needs of HTML.

However, it is still ridiculous to claim that URI != URL in Web parlance.
URL is and always has been the subset of URI that can be used as a locator,
which most people understand to be equivalent to the set of all URI once
they figure out how HTTP works.  Changing the existing term URL to fit the
definition of a reference is just plain confusing, even within the HTML
specifications.  I know because I tried to do that myself in the early
drafts of RFC1808.  If the goal is to produce quality specifications,
we should expect the terms to be used correctly.

.....Roy

Received on Friday, 5 December 2014 21:37:11 UTC