Fwd: RDF JS API (aka RDFa API)

Forwarded message from Sandro Hawke about the RDFa API and outreach...

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: RDF JS API (aka RDFa API)
Date: Tue, 07 Sep 2010 09:12:13 -0400
From: Sandro Hawke <sandro@w3.org>
Organization: World Wide Web Consortium (W3C)
To: Manu Sporny <msporny@digitalbazaar.com>

Sorry I got distracted and didn't follow up with you the other day.

The key issue here is that it seems a document your group is working
on...
        RDFa API
        An API for extracting structured data from Web documents
        W3C Working Draft 08 June 2010
        This version:
                http://www.w3.org/TR/2010/WD-rdfa-api-20100608/
        Latest published version:
                http://www.w3.org/TR/rdfa-api/

... is actually not just about RDFa, but provides a general API for
getting at RDF data from Javascript in a browser.   I think this is a
good thing to have, but W3C has an obligation to make sure that the
people who care about a standard have the chance to participate in its
creation.  I'm concerned that because this has been labeled as "RDFa",
that hasn't happened.

So far, given my sample size of one (myself), it hasn't happened. This
is a technology I care about, and I didn't know standardization was
happening until it was mentioned in the CG.   Obviously I could be an
outlier, but I think my experience should motivate significantly more
outreach, and different outreach (*not* using the "RDFa" brand, which is
what made me ignore this work so far)

Did you know that 3.5 years ago we did a survey and 35 people said, Yes,
we should create a standard Semantic Web API for Javascript in Browsers,
immediately?  Despite that support, we didn't do the work because we
didn't have the staff resources.

See http://www.w3.org/2002/09/wbs/1/semweb-js-api/results

Also, 41 people said they would at least follow and review the work.  I
wonder how many of them know we're doing it now?   We could start with
the smaller subset, the seven who said they expected to join the WG and
were already W3C members.  Two of those are in the CG (Michael
Hausenblas, Lee Feigenbaum) and the others are: Sergio Fdez, Dave
Reynolds, Fergal Monaghan, Reggiori Alberto, and Pantelis Nasikas.  (Of
those, I only know Dave.)

Are any of them in the WG?  (Michael, Lee, and Dave are very plugged in;
I'd consider them at least as likely to know about this work as me.)

So, at very least, I'd like to see some publicity, in the form of a news
posting on the w3.org front page, and postings on semantic-web@w3.org
which say W3C is making a standard API for working with Semantic Web
Data/RDF/Linked Data  in Javascript.   Also, I think the shortname
should change to not start with rdfa.   Presumably this should happen at
the next publication, in the form of asking for feedback on a new draft
(when we normally announce to all these locations anyway); probably the
title should also be changed to something more like "RDF JavaScript
API".

Does that make sense, now?

(Sorry, I still haven't actually had a chance to READ the spec.  :-(
I'm just going off what you said in the CG meeting.)

    -- Sandro

Received on Wednesday, 8 September 2010 12:26:43 UTC