- From: Tim Berners-Lee <timbl@w3.org>
- Date: Mon, 13 Jun 2011 16:07:01 +0100
- To: Karl Dubost <karld@opera.com>
- Cc: Jonathan Rees <jar@creativecommons.org>, Larry Masinter <masinter@adobe.com>, "www-tag@w3.org" <www-tag@w3.org>
Yes, in the use I am used to it sn't that a spec is normative, but that in a given spec, there is text which is or is not normative and references which are and are not normative. To meet a specification, you typically have to obey the normative bits while being informed by the non-normative bits, and you generally have to also implement the obey the object of references. Presumably to say that a spec itself is Normative could mean that (a) it is formally written with normative bits so can be used as a normative spec by others or (b) is in a given context, like a common mother spec, a direct or indirect normative reference. I don't think W3C has a concept of a Normative Spec in the absolute, unless I've missed it. In the HTML5 case perhaps people would mean a normative reference, direct or indirect, from the HTML spec. Tim
Received on Monday, 13 June 2011 17:42:15 UTC