Re: backronym proposal: Universal Resource Linker

Ian Davis wrote:
> When talking to people who aren't semweb engineers then i use
> URL/URI/link interchangeably. I don't think it matters because the 1%
> that care will look it all up and get the distinction and the rest
> will just get on and use RDF as shown.
>   

Ian,

And this huge community of RDF users exists where, relative to the size 
of World Wide Web users?

Come on now!!

Kingsley
> On Sunday, April 18, 2010, Dan Brickley <danbri@danbri.org> wrote:
>   
>> So - I'm serious. The term 'URI' has never really worked as something
>> most Web users encounter and understand.
>>
>> For RDF, SemWeb and linked data efforts, this is a problem as our data
>> model is built around URIs.
>>
>> If 'URL' can be brought back from limbo as a credible technical term,
>> and rebranded around the concept of 'linkage', I think it'll go a long
>> way towards explaining what we're up to with RDF.
>>
>> Thoughts?
>>
>> Dan
>>
>>
>> ---------- Forwarded message ----------
>> From: Dan Brickley <danbri@danbri.org>
>> Date: Sun, Apr 18, 2010 at 11:52 AM
>> Subject: backronym proposal: Universal Resource Linker
>> To: uri@w3.org
>> Cc: Tim Berners-Lee <timbl@w3.org>
>>
>>
>> I'll keep this short. The official term for Web identifiers, URI,
>> isn't widely known or understood. The I18N-friendly variant IRI
>> confuses many (are we all supposed to migrate to use it; or just in
>> our specs?), while the most widely used, understood and (for many)
>> easiest to pronounce, 'URL' (for Uniform Resource Locator) has been
>> relegated to 'archaic form' status. At the slightest provocation this
>> community dissapears down the rathole of URI-versus-URN, and until
>> this all settles down we are left with an uncomfortable disconnect
>> between how those in-the-know talk about Web identifiers, and those
>> many others who merely use it.
>>
>> As of yesterday, I've been asked "but what is a URI?" one too many
>> times. I propose a simple-minded fix: restore 'URL' as the most
>> general term for Web identifiers, and re-interpret 'URL' as "Universal
>> Resource Linker". Most people won't care, but if they investigate,
>> they'll find out about the re-naming. This approach avoids URN vs URI
>> kinds of distinction, scores 2 out of 3 for use of intelligible words,
>> and is equally appropriate to classic browser/HTML, SemWeb and other
>> technical uses. What's not to like? The Web is all about links, and
>> urls are how we make them...
>>
>> cheers,
>>
>> Dan
>>
>>
>>     
>
>
>   


-- 

Regards,

Kingsley Idehen	      
President & CEO 
OpenLink Software     
Web: http://www.openlinksw.com
Weblog: http://www.openlinksw.com/blog/~kidehen
Twitter/Identi.ca: kidehen

Received on Sunday, 18 April 2010 19:37:52 UTC