RE: [Fwd: RE: "information resource"]

> -----Original Message-----
> From: www-tag-request@w3.org 
> [mailto:www-tag-request@w3.org]On Behalf Of
> ext Stuart Williams
> Sent: 18 October, 2004 12:40
> To: Chris Lilley
> Cc: www-tag@w3.org
> Subject: RE: [Fwd: RE: "information resource"]
> 
> 
> 
> Hello Chris,
> 
> > On Friday, October 15, 2004, 12:10:37 PM, Bristol) wrote:
> > 
> > >> I'm arguing that the dog resource would in Patrick's 
> definition be an
> > >> IR because it has a body of information (its
> > WSHLB>           ^^^^^^^^^^ This is not Patricks defn!
> > 
> > >> medical records) but should not be an IR (per Basel def.).
> > 
> > WSHLB> Patricks defn is: "An "information resource" is a 
> resource which
> > WSHLB> constitutes a body of information."
> > 
> > WSHLB> Deeper in his message [1] he says "Why not simply 
> state that an 
> > WSHLB> "information resource" *is* information -- i.e. a body of 
> > WSHLB> information???"
> > 
> > WSHLB> I take him be using the word 'constitutes' in the 
> > sense of 'is'.
> > 
> > If it means "is" in the sense of "is solely" then its the 
> same as the basel
>  > definition.
> 
> Yes... but it does say what I believe we meant more directly than:
> 
> "The distinguishing characteristic of these resources is that all of
> their essential characteristics can be conveyed in a message."

To make a specific point, if it helps to keep a tight focus on
this particular text: given the common English usage of the words
"characteristics" and "convey", the above statement could be validly 
interpreted as being synonymous with:

  "The distinguishing characteristic of these resources is that
   all of their essential traits, qualities or properties can be 
   communicated in a message".

C.f.

http://webster.com/cgi-bin/dictionary?book=Dictionary&va=convey
http://webster.com/cgi-bin/dictionary?book=Dictionary&va=characteristic

Thus, a dog could be an information resource, since the essential
traits, qualities, and properties of the dog could be communicated 
in a message.

It seems, rather, that what was really meant by the text in question
is synonymous with:

  "The distinguishing characteristic of these resources is that
   all of their fundamental substance can be transmitted in 
   a message".

Fair enough. But this latter interpretation could be expressed
by providing a definition more precisely and simply stated as 

  "an information resource *is* information"

and it then simply follows from the fact that because an
information resource is information, that its fundamental
substance can be transmitte in a message, because that
is the case for all information.

Regards,

Patrick



> That said, personally I can live with either.
> 
> That gets us/me back to the two questions I had reduced Patrick's
> 'counter proposal' [1] to [2]:
> 
> <quote>
> Short version
> --------------
> I think that we have two key questions to answer (hopefully at our 
> telcon on Monday):
> 
> 1) Do we accept the first of Patricks suggested change from:
>        the set of  resources for which "...all of their essential 
> characteristics can be conveyed in a message."
>     to:
>        "An "information resource" is a resource which 
> constitutes a body 
> of information."?
> 
> 2) Do we define an additional term for resources that are web 
> accessible 
> (that can be interacted with via an exchange of representations) - 
> Patricks proposal being for the term "Web Resource"?
> </quote>
> 
> An of course there remain ths 'status-quo' position wrt to 
> the current 
> editors draft.
> 
> Regards
> 
> Stuart
> --
> [1] 
> http://www.w3.org/mid/1E4A0AC134884349A21955574A90A7A56471B7@t
rebe051.ntc.nokia.com
[2] http://www.w3.org/mid/416E81B0.4060608@hp.com

Received on Monday, 18 October 2004 10:10:29 UTC