Re: Proposal to amend the httpRange-14 resolution

Hi Kingsley,

On Tue, 2012-04-03 at 15:01 -0400, Kingsley Idehen wrote:
> On 4/3/12 1:46 PM, David Booth wrote:
[ . . . ]
> > This use of URI definitions helps to anchor the "meaning" of the URI, so
> > that it does not drift uncontrollably.
[ . . . ]
> 
> But once on the Web the user really [loses] control. There is not such 
> thing as real stability per se. Only when you have system faults can one 
> at least pivot accordingly. Thus, you only get the aforementioned 
> behavior in the context of a specific system and its associated rules.

I think you're right that we can never get total semantic stability in
an absolute sense.  But if we establish a commonly followed convention
in which the URI owner's URI definition is used when making statements
involving a URI, then the semantic drift will at least be substantially
limited.  Again, this does not require *everyone* to follow the
convention.  But the more that do follow it, the more effective it
becomes in making the web a sort of self-describing dictionary.


-- 
David Booth, Ph.D.
http://dbooth.org/

Opinions expressed herein are those of the author and do not necessarily
reflect those of his employer.

Received on Wednesday, 4 April 2012 01:01:09 UTC