TAG Focus on Web Apps (was: Re: FYI, tag election links)

On 12/13/2012 9:24 PM, Brian Kardell wrote:
> I don't think that anyone fundamentally disagrees with that - I have been
> writing and vocally and actively campaigning for a few (Yehuda, Alex,
> Marcos and Anne) and I don't.  I think what we are talking about here is
> that the equation seems to have been lopsided for quite some time now and
> we'd like to correct that.  Perhaps I would even go so far as to suggest
> that I advocate tipping the scale the other way for a time to help
> compensate and correct and help find the right balance.

I can't speak for other TAG members, but less "tipping" may be needed than 
you might think, at least in terms of TAG intentions and focus.

It was something like 3+ years ago that we made it a top TAG priority to 
update or augment the AWWW to tell the story of the Web of Applications. We 
made several rough "tables of contents" for a new AWWW to identify the 
areas that needed attention, and TAG members set off to tackle high 
priority bits. In two years, we never managed to address more than a few 
isolated topics. Each took a lot of time, and for some (e.g. offline apps & 
storage) we struggled to reach consensus on what the right messages would 
be. So it's not that we need convincing to make Web Apps a priority, it's 
that we haven't succeeded. Some useful TAG publications, such as the Dec. 
2011 Finding "Identifying Application State" did result from initial 
projects under Web Apps banner. We had an effort to address Privacy in Web 
(JavaScript) APIs, and a few others too.

Still, all this fell way short of the larger goal of revising/augmenting 
AWWW to provide useful advice on Web Apps. There was such a disconnect 
between the claim that we were tackling that whole update and the amount we 
were getting done that a year ago we stopped actively tracking progress 
against the larger goal. We went back, for the moment, to trying to 
identify individual high priority areas of concern. I think it was the 
right call at the time. My point is that the TAG long ago agreed with the 
proposition that focusing on the Web of Applications should be a top 
priority. We've struggled to figure out how to do it. Maybe now is the time 
we can do better.

My impression is that most, perhaps all TAG members have welcomed the 
recent attention brought to this issue by the ongoing election and by these 
discussions.  If we're starting to generate the ideas and the help we'll 
need from the community to finally succeed, that would IMO be terrific. 
Obviously, what the TAG can do well will also depend on the mix of skills 
and perspectives we have in the room after this election.

Again, just my personal opinions, not speaking officially as chair.

Noah

Received on Friday, 14 December 2012 04:23:35 UTC