RE: Commitment to Standards

TR> responses below

>----------
>From: 	Lee Daniel Crocker[SMTP:lcrocker@calweb.com]
>Sent: 	Sunday, June 30, 1996 12:04 AM
>To: 	Thomas Reardon
>Cc: 	www-html@w3.org
>Subject: 	Commitment to Standards
>
>> I want to be the first to let the world know what wonderous new
>> things Netscape has done for us this week.
>
>If MS really wants to make points here, don't bother preaching
>to the choir: have the balls to make a real press release
>affirming MS's commitment to standards in direct opposition
>to Netscape's clear contempt of them, and then follow through.
>Remove the page on microsoft.com that advocates — and other
>illegal character entities, and fix MSIE to support the correct
>ones.  Add CSS1-based frames in addition to the old NS hack.
>Commit _now_ that MS will _not_ support the new Netscape-isms,
>put those functions into style sheets, and publicise how to use
>them correctly.  Make the Internet Assistants for Word and Excel
>generate valid HTML with stylesheets.  Commit to supporting
>PNG, so MSIE can actually read W3C's pages without gagging.
TR> we are fixing the entity reference for our beta2.  should be up in
the next few days if not sooner.  this was raised on this very list
about a month ago which is how i found out and committed to fixing then.
 this will also include fixes to IE itself to handle a bunch of named
entities it previously failed on.  note that &trade will be supported
because mosaic and other legacy apps support; because of this we are
trying to add it to HTML 3.2 spec now.
TR> CSS-based frames are coming, but not for IE3.  the HTML ERB at W3C
has committed to a bakeoff between the netscape-based design and a
css-based design, and we will follow whatever the community decides
upon.  of course, our up front opinion is that css rules.
TR> Regarding PNG, if we haven't been clear, then let me take this
opportunity: we ABSOLUTELY will support PNG in the IE3 timeframe, if not
right at ship then shortly afterward and before IE4.  note that it will
probably only be supported via OBJECT not IMG.
TR> We cannot commit to not supporting Netscape-isms.  In fact, if
Netscape proposes them as formal standards in a collaborative manner,
then we would take a good look at endorsing as part of the actual
standard.  In response to your direct question, yes, of course these
latest netscape-isms will be in style sheets, in fact much of them
already are.
TR> Internet Assistants will begin supporting style sheets by end of
year.  Excel in particular will also make use of RFC1952 tables.
>
>If MS does all that--at least--then maybe it has a right to
>complain about Netscape.
>
>--
>Lee Daniel Crocker <lee@piclab.com>
>(formerly leecr@microsoft.com)
>
>

Received on Sunday, 30 June 1996 00:29:13 UTC