ANNOUNCE: new mailing list, www-rdf-logic@w3.org

RDF IG,

Brief note to announce www-rdf-logic, 
a new RDF Interest Group discussion list for 'logic on the Web'.

	http://lists.w3.org/Archives/Public/www-rdf-logic/

Copied below is the overview text I've just sent to a new list,
mailto:www-rdf-logic@w3.org that we've created for technical discussion
concerning the design of logic-based languages for use on the Web. 


A few words on the inevitable 'where do I post' dillema:

We're all familar with the difficulties of scoping mailing list
discussions, and with the high traffic levels on the RDF IG list. A number
of projects have a need to discuss, in some detail, designs for logic-based
Web languages -- the DAML initiative, as very helpfully outlined by Jim
Hendler[1], being a notable example. While I think it is clear that the
main RDF IG list is reaching its useful capacity in terms of traffic, and
that RDF/logic discussion needs a home, there is no clear cut dividing
line for partitioning our discussion. That's life: we will have to develop
our intuitions as to what-belongs-where. The new list is for 'logic
stuff, although logic crops up for example when we discuss our
(occasionally varying) interpretations of the RDF specs. We'll make it up
as we go along, following the broad outline from the list scope ([2],
copied below). I'd discourage cross-posting. Occasional summaries from one
list to the other would be handy, but both have online searchable archives
so crossposting is likely to be overkill.

Broad brush, the idea is that there are an increasing number of people
working on RDF from a formal logic perspective, and that traffic on
details of this are likely to be outside the interests of many on the
main RDF IG list. Similarly, the logic discussion may proceed more smoothly if
conducted on a list that is not addressing the details of W3C's RDF specs,
syntax in particular.

A tentative way of proceeding is for 'highly technical' logic threads to
be initiated on the new list, and for threads from the main list to be
occasionally transferred to www-rdf-logic when they get too
detailed. There's a balance to be struck, but I believe
the only way to find it is to wade straight in. So rather than spend ages
debating mail list charters/scope, let's have the logic enthusiasts sign
up to www-rdf-logic and see what happens! (this should be fun...)

Dan

ps. for those who'd stumbled across it, the www-rdf-logic list obsoletes
the semantic-web@w3.org address, which we never formally announced. IMHO
there's more to the semantic web than logic, but that's another thread... ;-)

[1] http://lists.w3.org/Archives/Public/www-rdf-interest/2000Sep/0112.html

[2] http://lists.w3.org/Archives/Public/www-rdf-logic/

---------- Forwarded message ----------

Date: Mon, 11 Sep 2000 13:57:59 -0400 (EDT)
From: Dan Brickley <danbri@w3.org>
To: www-rdf-logic@w3.org
Subject: Introducing www-rdf-logic
Resent-Date: Mon, 11 Sep 2000 13:58:02 -0400 (EDT)
Resent-From: www-rdf-logic@w3.org



Address for posting: www-rdf-logic@w3.org

Administrivia:
(un)subscribe: www-rdf-logic-request@w3.org 
 with Subject: subscribe 
 or   Subject: unsubscribe	


Scope:
While W3C's existing work in this area has focussed on the XML, RDF and
URI specifications, the www-rdf-logic forum is intended to facilitate
discussion drawing upon a wide variety of research in the
Web/logic/ontologies area. 

General discussion concerning the RDF model, syntax and schema
specifications, implementations, W3C process etc. should be
directed to the main RDF Interest Group mailing list (www-rdf-interest). 

W3C provide the www-rdf-logic forum as a home for detailed technical
discussion of all approaches to the use of classical logic on
the Web for the representation of data such as inference rules,
ontologies, and complex schemata. The logic list, through association
with the RDF Interest Group, also serves as a mechanism to provide input
into W3C's Semantic Web activities, in particular relating
to future directions for the Resource Description Framework. 


Context: Why www-rdf-logic ?

This list has been called www-rdf-logic to reflect a concern that
discussion of logic languages for the Web take place within the
context of the broad Web architecture principles that informed the RDF
design. This should not overly constrain discussions on the
logic list: RDF was designed as a framework that could become
incrementally more expressive. The initial RDF design focusses on
simple binary relations between Web-identifiable resources. The notion of
a resource is fundamental both to RDF and to the general
Web architecture. In RDF, we model all our vocabulary constructs
(relations, types etc) as first class (ie. URI named) Web
resources. These basic principles (rather than the details of, for
example, RDF's XML syntax) can be used to connect the basic RDF
to more expressive logic/inference languages on the Web. 

Nearby:
     RDF home page, http://www.w3.org/RDF/
     RDF Interest Group: http://www.w3.org/RDF/Interest/
     Semantic Web Development: http://www.w3.org/2000/01/sw/



Dan

--
mailto:danbri@w3.org
RDF IG chair

Received on Monday, 11 September 2000 15:45:53 UTC