Re: URL work in HTML 5

On 9/26/2012 7:08 AM, Robin Berjon wrote:
>
> You seem to believe that the approach taken in HTML and other such
> specifications is to prolong the mess generated by A-type standards — in
> fact it is the exact opposite. Once the mess left by the unavoidable drift
> in A-type standards is properly accounted for and grandfathered, technology
> development can proceed sanely. The vast increase in HTML-based innovation
> over the past few years is a testimony to this.

I'm sorry, but in this case you're putting words in my mouth, and then 
debating what you claim I'm saying.

I am not, criticizing the choices made in HTML5 to document and make 
consistent the processing of what is technically "incorrect" content. You 
keep defending that choice, and I'm NOT disagreeing.

Further, I appreciate very much that after some negotiations, there was 
agreement to also produce the HTML5: Edition for Web Authors [1], which I 
understand is intended to document what authors >should< do.  All good.

If I have a concern, it's that I don't see as much emphasis as I'd like 
from a social, a technical and publicity perspective on getting authors to 
follow [1], and to produce content that validates. One can imagine 
investing in educational materials and activities, publicity, or possibly 
even browser modes that create social pressure to "do it right".

Again, this is not criticizing the decision to document and attempt to get 
compatibility on the interpretation of non-conforming as well as conforming 
content (though, FWIW, I might have preferred if the main specification 
were titled as an HTML5 User Agent Specification, since what it documents 
goes well beyond what's conforming HTML5. I think [1] is closer to an HTML5 
specification.)

Noah

[1] http://www.w3.org/TR/html5-author/

Received on Wednesday, 26 September 2012 14:57:53 UTC