- From: Dan Connolly <connolly@w3.org>
- Date: Thu, 20 Sep 2007 16:52:15 +0100
- To: Pat Hayes <phayes@ihmc.us>
- Cc: Tim Berners-Lee <timbl@w3.org>, Technical Architecture Group WG <www-tag@w3.org>, Susie Stephens <susie.stephens@gmail.com>
Pat Hayes wrote: > >> >> 7. "On the Semantic Web, URIs identify not just Web documents, but >> also real-world objects like people and cars, and even abstract ideas >> and non-existing things like a mythical unicorn. We call all these >> things resources." >> >> Of course many people would consider the Traditional Web to include >> mailto: links. Suggest: >> >> "On the Semantic Web, http: URIs identify not just Web documents, but >> also real-world objects like people and cars, and even abstract ideas >> and non-existing things like a mythical unicorn. We call all these >> things resources." > > This seems to me to embody the central error which is causing so much > trouble. In what sense can a URI (or indeed any name: the fact that is a > URI is irrelevant in this case) be said to "identify" a real-world or > nonexistent entity? The direct answer is, it CANT. To even use this word > "identify" in this sense and in this kind of a case, is clearly and > provably WRONG. It seems pretty clear that the name "Dan Connolly" identifies me and that I am a real-world entity. If you have a proof that this is not so, I'm quite curious to see it. -- Dan Connolly, W3C http://www.w3.org/People/Connolly/
Received on Thursday, 20 September 2007 15:51:55 UTC