Re: XHTML module for addresses

jens.meiert@erde3.com wrote:
> - First, that sounds like a great chance to abuse this extra flagged
> information. (Mail) spammers and whoever will be happy about this
> opportunity. -- This disadvantage obviously outweighes all possible
> benefits for serious services.

If there was much money to be made in unsolicited bulk postal mail,
assuredly someone would already be doing it using phone directory databases
and the like.

Unsolicited bulk e-mail isn't a significant problem because printed matter
and postage costs. Telemarketing is much cheaper and spam e-mail passes its
costs on to the receiver.

Even if you did receive a targeted e-mail in this manner, I'd say the risk
was in putting your address on the Web at all, not in properly marking it
up.

> - <irony>Second, be consequent and add some <phone
> type="(home|business|mobile)" /> etc.pp. elements to ensure the next
> (possible) malpractice...</irony>

I do think that a <phone> element would be risky, though I haven't heard of
any abuses of phone-dialing links in WML.

> I'm sorry, but privacy concerns are IMO too important to be abstracted
> away, although there exist enough methods to get personal, and although
> this topic cannot be a W3 task.

Personal shmersonal, let's do business. Take my vCard, click for directions,
send your check to this address. :)

Received on Thursday, 15 May 2003 10:36:48 UTC