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

On 14 December 2012 05:22, Noah Mendelsohn <nrm@arcanedomain.com> wrote:

>
>
> 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.
>


The Web was born at a time when there were many competing documentation
systems, with the aim to become one universal documentation space.
Architecturally this was achieved by tying things together using "UDI"
(Universal Document Identifier), later to go on to become the URI.

Do you see an analogy with the application stores today.  Facebook has one,
Apple has one, Google has one, Microsoft has one, Ubuntu has one, Firefox
has one, Chrome has one, maybe Opera too?

If Web Apps are to be a priority of the TAG, would perhaps a goal of
creating an architecture to bring together as many application ecosystems
as possible, into a common web space.  Or is this too big a task?


>
> Noah
>
>