Re: URL +1, LSID -1

On Tue, 10 Jul 2007 10:52:04 -0700, Eric Jain <Eric.Jain@isb-sib.ch> wrote:

> is that the large majority of resources does not have a machine readable  
> representation, and web pages happen to be the greatest common  
> denominator.


This is a *perfect* observation :-) and it is, IMO, the crux of the  
current LSID/URL issue.

Today, the greatest common denominator is a web page (i.e. GET resolution  
of URLs), and that gives us a strong compulsion to use URLs to create the  
Semantic Web.  One day, however, the Semantic Web will be the greatest  
common denominator (we hope!) and at that point we may wish that we had  
not built it on URLs.

My argument for LSIDs is not that they are easier to use (right now), but  
that they have properties that are going to be extremely useful to the  
Semantic Web once it becomes pervasive.

As I said to Susie the other day - I have Morse Code tapper to give away  
to anyone who wants it... it works perfectly and is still  
standards-compliant ;-)

M

Received on Tuesday, 10 July 2007 18:04:23 UTC