[tdmrep] Possibly unclear specification regarding tdm-policy

Dear W3C,

I find the TDM Reservation Protocol (TDMRep) possibly unclear because:

It doesn't say if a presence of tdm-reservation means that search 
engines can still list the site. The listing still being allowed will 
likely be highly desired by any of the users but that way of 
interpreting it may be highly undesired by Google etc. to disincentivize 
use of the field. (Since most web search providers also happen to be big 
AI companies.)

I think it would therefore help to state in bold letters in the intro 
https://www.w3.org/community/reports/tdmrep/CG-FINAL-tdmrep-20240510/#sec-properties 
that this doesn't replace the noindex tag, and isn't intended to have 
the same meaning as the noindex tag, and doesn't mean the website opts 
out of search engine listings, and search engines should not rank the 
websites any lower as a form of punishment.

My apologies if I'm simply misunderstanding the spec or how this is 
meant to work, and if any of what I said is wrong. This isn't legal 
advice and I'm not a lawyer.

Regards,

Ellie

Received on Friday, 6 March 2026 18:43:20 UTC