Re: [XHTML2] DESCRIPTION element (was: Re: [XHTML2] CITELANG, TITLELANG attributes)

At Wed, Jul 28, 2004 at 10:24:30AM +0300, Jukka K. Korpela wrote:
> Oh, the current XHTML 2.0 draft seems to have the confused old HR element
> under a longer name, with an even more confusing description of semantics.
> Give me a break! :-) Anyway, the old HR element may have a TITLE
> attribute, and there are conceivable uses for it - like including an
> explanation of the nature of separation, e.g. TITLE="Some final notes
> follow." If we think this is important (I don't, because SEPARATOR is just
> confusing), then an element like SEPARATOR should simply be defined as
> nonempty, with TITLE as the only allowed content if we find no use for any
> other content.

Why can't this person who needs the title on the notes, put them inside a <div/> or a
<section/>?  That's the problem at hand.

Even if you had structure like this...
  <section>
    <section>...</section>
    <section>...</section>
    <separator>
      <h>Notes follow...</h>
    </separator>
    <section>...</section>
    <section>...</section>
  </section>

Which sections does the title on the separator apply to?  The first section?  Every section?
How will the recipient's user agent know?  Will it have to know?  Will the recipient
_themselves_ understand?

It must surely be less ambiguous to write...
  <section>
    <section>...</section>
    <section>...</section>
    <section>
      <h>Notes</h>
      <section>...</section>
      <section>...</section>
    </section>
  </section>

There isn't much more content, and it's plain to see which sections the Notes heading belongs
to now.  <separator/> may be clearer than <hr/> (IMO, at least), but it's certainly still
unnecessary, and people will abuse it.

TX

-- 
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