Erm, is HTML content or presentation based?

(Forgive me if I make horrendous blunders... please...)

Isn't HTML supposed to be content, rather than presentation, based?
That is, you describe the *content* of a document, rather than how
it looks? This then gives you a `better' document because then
(assuming you did it right) you can get a list of variables easily
because they're surrounded by <var></var> pairs?

If so, (referring to Joe English's message about the new HTML 3
features being supported), why does HTML 3 seem to be tending toward
the presentation-specifying `model'? I can't see how the <center>
tag is part of a content-based document, or how
> <UL SRC="greenball.gif">
is either. To me, these just seem like pure presentation `niceties'.
Similarly the 
> <HR src="redline.gif">

Is this a consequence of the Netscape monopoly, whereby Netscapisms
are virtually forced into HTML 3 onwards purely because of the number
of people who've used them rather than there being a need for them?

Or have I got this totally the wrong way around?

rob -- a confused www-html list reader

Received on Sunday, 6 August 1995 14:27:49 UTC