Re: around the table on datatypes [ was: Re: datatyping draft 3 (for telecon)]

At 10:12 PM 2/19/02 -0600, Pat Hayes wrote:
>I agree that we should post suitable warnings, but I don't see how we can 
>legislate a perfect world.

Yes (and I agree with most of the other parts of your response).   I guess 
I'm uneasy that we should appear to explicitly promote an approach that is 
known to be dangerous, even if it's covered with warnings.

To pick up your bench saw analogy, it's not only your own thumbs at risk, 
but the thumbs of anyone who happens to walk into your workshop, possibly 
not knowing that it contains a bench saw.  Maybe a better analogy would be 
a restaurant that doesn't practice good hygiene:  it's not so much the chef 
and staff that are in danger from the cooking flame, but the hungry 
punters, consumers of the product, who are not aware of the possibility of 
infection.

#g


------------------------------------------------------------
Graham Klyne                    MIMEsweeper Group
Strategic Research              <http://www.mimesweeper.com>
<Graham.Klyne@MIMEsweeper.com>

Received on Wednesday, 20 February 2002 04:12:05 UTC