XHTML2: Elements to include and not to include (i and b)

I would like to propose including <i> and <b> in the XHTML2. Even if they are mostly 
presentational, their *presentation* holds information.

In biology, systematic names for species are written in italics:
<i>S. cerevisiae</i> in a middle of sentence might not be understood as a species if it 
wasn't for the <i> tags. <span class="bug-name"> does not bear the same information.

Italics are even more important in biochemistry where a gene (name) is written in italics 
but the gene product (with the same name) is not!

The case for <b> is weaker. Sometimes <b> has the informational value of telling that this 
is the first occurence of a person's name in the article.

Summa summarum: B and I are very similar to SUP and SUB which are included in XHTML2 for 
good reasons. B and I should be in XHTML2, too.

=-=-=-=

I'd also like to support including BR in XHTML for the sake backwards compatibility.

-- 
Samuli Lintula             @ http://www.samulilintula.net/
Department of Biochemistry @ University of Turku
1. Varavaltuutettu (vihr.) @ Turku
http://www.samulilintula.net/netti/operavukk.php

Received on Monday, 12 August 2002 14:05:57 UTC