Re: html, webtv, etc. (fwd)

At 09:38 AM 2/12/97 -0800, Subir Grewal wrote:
>
>Well this message landed in my box earlier today.  It wasn't sent by the
>author David Heller <dheller@tisny.com>, whom I don't know.  I thought
>it might interest some of the people on this list because we've been
>discussing similar issues here.  My take on the whole issue is very
>different from the author's since I think the true promise of the web is
>as a cross-referenced information system. 

[ ... article deleted ...]

Is Mr. Heller a member of the W3C? Has he tried to become a member
of the W3C? Does he subscribe to any of the lists? Where does he get
his information? Does he use the Web as a research tool?
Here, give this URL (and its contents) a try:

  http://www.yahoo.com/Computers_and_Internet/Internet/Organizations/

Does Mr. Heller know about any of the existing organizations which
may perhaps already serve this function, or might be directed towards
such a function? Is he a member of the HTML Writer's Guild or The
International Society for Internet Professionals? Does Mr. Heller believe
that his voice, alone and uninformed or poorly informed, can make such
a difference? 

Please take the time to inform yourself of alternatives before suggesting
the creation of Yet Another Web Developers' Group, Mr. Heller. I suggest
that you either become a member of an existing organization or show some
evidence that you have attempted to enact those changes which you so
dearly desire. Yes, HTML Development is difficult due to the various
idiocies which result from M$ vs. Netscape et al. Yes, there are people
working very hard to ensure that the code is compatibly displayed when
the browsers support it, and there is competition as to the adoption
of new tags and their handling. Bugs will always exist, as will differing
interpretations of specifications - when such specs are agreed upon.
Try printing a Postscript file on twenty different printers, or take a
look at GNU's hello program if you doubt me. And don't worry, it will
work on your system. 

 ftp://ftp.uu.net/archive/systems/gnu/hello-1.3.tar.gz

It is still possible to create excellent cross-platform and cross-browser
compatible HTML markup, Mr. Heller. The trick is knowing which things work
and which things don't, and keeping your markup relatively simple. And
complaining because obvious marketing traps (such as ActiveX) don't
work right across platforms and browsers is silly. If you want full
cross-compatibility, write yourself a browser which does all of the
things you want - but be sure to support the standards! 

Thanks for the (fwd), Subir.

Steve


--
Steven Champeon               | It is very dark. You are
Web Guru / Intranet Builder   | likely to be eaten by a grue.
schampeo@hesketh.com          |           - Zork

Received on Wednesday, 12 February 1997 13:55:02 UTC