Re: URIs and OpenURLs (was:upcoming events for URI CG schedule?)

On Fri, 2003-05-09 at 08:53, Ray Denenberg wrote:
> I'm listed as representing the library community to the URI
> Coordinating Group. A while ago Chairman Norm was asking if there were
> any issues, etc: 
> 
> Norman Walsh wrote: 
> > | Ray, any events in the library community we should know 
> > | about?

Actually, Norm was quoting me there, but no matter...

> I do think I have something substantive to raise, the OpenURL effort. 
> Note that Mark Needleman is listed as representing the OpenURL
> community to the URI CG,  I have discussed this with him, and he
> suggested that it would be better if I raised this issue;  my views on
> this do not necessarily reflect his.  Anyway, here goes. 
> 
> The OpenURL standard (in development) is of profound importance to the
> library and publishing (and related) communities. There are a number
> of references, but start at: 
> http://library.caltech.edu/openurl/
> and there is a bibliography at: 
> http://library.caltech.edu/openurl/Bibliography.htm
> 
> There has been, far as I can tell, a near-total disconnect between the
> W3C/IETF and the OpenURL community. I don't understand the reason for
> this disconnect and I'm not attempting to address the big picture and
> identify or fix the underlying societal problem (if there is one), but
> I want to raise conciousness on one particular potentially-serious
> issue. 
> 
> There is a proposed identifier framework, at: 
> 
> http://library.caltech.edu/openurl/PubComDocs/Announce/20030415%20Announce-Naming.htm
> 
> While a quick read this document might raise a number of concerns, 
> the most serious, I think, is the suggestion that URI is one of a
> number of so-called "naming environments" -- specifically, three: URI,
> ORI, and XRI (although it isn't clear if this proposed framework is
> intended to be extensible to additional "environments") and that every
> identifier is to be prefixed by its environment type.  Thus (and most
> significantly) it is presumed that URIs will be prefixed by 'uri' (as
> in "uri.http://xxxxxx"). 
> 
> Now I've told everyone I can (who will listen) that nobody's going to
> start prefixing their URIs in this fashion. And this discussion is
> strongly reminicient of the debate over URLs and URNs a number of
> years ago, when there was an analogous  suggestion based on the
> premise that URL and URN were two of possibly several naming
> environments and that URLs and URNs  should be prefixed by 'url:' and
> 'urn:' respectively.  As we all know that suggestion wasn't adopted.
> The proposal in question risks reviving that earlier debate, which (in
> my opinion) would be a huge waste of time and energy. But it's
> instructive to recall how that earlier debate was eventually resolved:
> 'urn' was adopted as a URI scheme. 
> 
> I really don't think the OpenURL folks honestly believe that their
> scheme will be adopted; I think they've put it up out of some
> frustration and cynicism. I don't completely understand why they think
> these things that they want to identify cannot be accomodated within
> the URI framework either with one or two new URI schemes or new URN
> namespace identifiers.  However I suspect it is because they have
> concluded that it is nearly impossible, or at least very difficult, to
> get new schemes or namspaces approved. 
> 
> I would like to hear what others on this list think about this. I
> would appreciate it if some of you might be willing to study this and
> provide guidance. 

A few things come to mind:

(1) We could increase the visibility of "how that earlier
debate was eventually resolved" by following thru on our
obligation to get
  http://www.w3.org/TR/uri-clarification/
reviewed (and perhaps promoted to W3C REC) by the W3C TAG

I have that scheduled for the June timeframe
  http://www.w3.org/2001/12/URI/#Schedule

The action to do that naturally falls to me, as TAG
liaison, but as I'm carrying a number of other balls,
I'd appreciate if somebody would perhaps take this
one the first few yards for me.


(2) I'd like to know about upcoming opportunities to chat
with OpenURL folks. When/where do they meet next?
Do they have periodic meetings?

(3) Perhaps there are influential members of the OpenURL
communities that we could invite to upcoming IETF or W3C
events. The W3C TAG meets face to face in July, though
this seems like an awkward fit at best for their agenda.
Ah... better yet, the next IETF is in July too...
  57th IETF - Vienna, Austria
               (July 13-18, 2003)
  http://www.ietf.org/


-- 
Dan Connolly, W3C http://www.w3.org/People/Connolly/

Received on Friday, 9 May 2003 12:54:08 UTC