Re: Draft of TAG position on use of unregistered media types in W3C Recommendations

Looks good, Noah.  Have you considered integrating it into the
previous media type registration finding?

http://www.w3.org/2001/tag/2004/0430-mime

I also think it might be useful to say that the community should
attempt to register non-registered types once common practice has been
established... though that probably goes beyond the scope of the
questions asked of the TAG.

Mark.

On 7/21/06, noah_mendelsohn@us.ibm.com <noah_mendelsohn@us.ibm.com> wrote:
>
> On the TAG teleconference of 18 July 2006 there was some discussion of use
> of unregistered media types in W3C (see agenda [1] and draft minutes [2]).
> I was assigned an action [3] to draft a very short note that the TAG might
> circulate to clarify its position.  For the moment, there is no specific
> plan to turn this note into a finding, but we might choose to do so later.
> Anyway, the following is my first cut at such a note.  At this point, the
> following is NOT the agreed position of the TAG, just text that's being
> circulated for consideration.
>
> =======START OF DRAFT NOTE==========
> Several groups within the W3C have recently approached the Technical
> Architecture Group (TAG) to ask for clarification of the guidelines
> regarding references to unregistered media types from W3C Recommendations.
> The TAG briefly considered this question during their teleconference of 18
> July 2006 [1,2], and this note is being circulated to publicise our
> conclusions.
>
> In general, it is desirable that media types and other formats referenced
> from W3C Recommendations be properly registered with the appropriate
> authority.  Nonetheless, the TAG recognizes that certain such formats come
> into widespread use without registration, and that there may also in
> exceptional circumstances be good reasons for using or experimenting with
> new formats that are not registered.  Accordingly, the TAG suggests the
> following guidelines for W3C Recommendations:
>
> * Workgroups preparing Recommendations should in general make reasonable
> efforts to avoid dependencies on media types or other data formats that are
> not properly registered with the appropriate registration authority.  In the
> case of MIME media types, that authority is IANA.
>
> * Accordingly, workgroups should in general arrange for registration of new
> media types that they may create, and should make reasonable efforts to
> promote the proper registration of other formats on which their
> Recommendations depend.
>
> * W3C Recommendations may and indeed should refer to unregistered media
> types when necessary to meet the needs of users, e.g. when required for
> proper interaction with widely deployed software.  In such circumstances, it
> is typically appropriate for the Recommendation itself or for the materials
> accompanying the submission of the Proposed Recommendation to briefly
> explain the reason for dependence on an unregistered format.
>
> Noah Mendelsohn
> For the W3C Technical Architecture Group
>
> [1] http://www.w3.org/2001/tag/2006/07/18-agenda.html
> [2]
> http://www.w3.org/2001/tag/2006/07/18-tagmem-minutes.html#item05
>
> =======END OF DRAFT NOTE==========
>
> [1] http://www.w3.org/2001/tag/2006/07/18-agenda.html
> [2]
> http://www.w3.org/2001/tag/2006/07/18-tagmem-minutes.html#item05
> [3]
> http://www.w3.org/2006/07/18-tagmem-minutes.html#action02
>
>
>  --------------------------------------
>  Noah Mendelsohn
>  IBM Corporation
>  One Rogers Street
>  Cambridge, MA 02142
>  1-617-693-4036
>  --------------------------------------
>
>
>
>

Received on Friday, 21 July 2006 14:29:50 UTC