Re: [css3-writing-modes] note about disabling font-variant

On Thu, Sep 19, 2013 at 8:10 PM, John Daggett <jdaggett@mozilla.com> wrote:

>
> After the requirement to disable full-width variants was removed, in it's
> place this note was added:
>
> http://dev.w3.org/csswg/css-writing-modes/#text-combine-fullwidth
>
> # Full-width glyph variations can also be chosen via the font-variant
> # property or @font-face descriptor [CSS3-FONTS]. However since such
> # variations do not affect the glyph shape in contemporary fonts,
> # there is no explicit interaction with this feature currently. A
> # future revision of this specification may require ignoring such
> # declarations within the combined text if common usage makes such
> # behavior desirable.
>
> I strongly object to this wording.  Who is this note addressed to and
> what purpose does it serve?  You're conjecturing about possible future
> WG decisions and as such I don't think that has any place in a spec.
> It's just noise to those working on implementations and distracting to
> authors trying to understand the 'text-combine-horizontal' property.
>

A note is merely informative, so it doesn't have to meet the same bar as
normative text. Secondly, there is nothing wrong with putting forward
looking statements into notes. It's done all the time and is useful to
establish expectations. Of course, it should be couched in language that
doesn't preclude changing direction.


> Either omit this note or replace it with one directed at authors:
>
>   Properties that affect glyph selection, such as the
>   'font-variant' and 'font-feature-settings' properties defined
>   in [CSS3-FONTS], can potentially affect the selection of
>   variants for digits or alphabetic characters included in
>   <em>tatechuyoko</em> text runs. Authors are advised to use
>   these properties with care when 'text-combine-horizontal' is
>   also used.
>
> That's more informative and serves a purpose I think.
>
> Regards,
>
> John Daggett
>
>