Is '=' valid in <a> href attributes?

I happened to be reading an article in Wired and I thought I'd see how
valid the page was. I was pleasantly surprised to find just one thing
preventing validator.w3.org from pronoucing it good.

<URL:
http://validator.w3.org/check?uri=http%3A//www.wired.com/news/technology/0%2C1282%2C55687-2%2C00.html>

As you can see, the validator complains about line 107 where you have:

<a
href="http://newsdev3.hotwired.com/news/photogallery.asp?section=PoliticsPhotos"
target=_top>Politics</a>

While the validator will probably complain about the target attribute
being unquoted it is actually complaining about 'section=...". I
couldn't find anything which indicates '=' is bad in an attribute.

I am aware that '&', '<' and '>' need to be used as entities in the
attribute section, should '=' also be?

Have I missed something or is this potentially a validator bug?

Thanks,
Anand

-- 
 `` We are shaped by our thoughts, we become what we think.
 When the mind is pure, joy follows like a shadow that never
 leaves. '' -- Buddha, The Dhammapada

Received on Sunday, 20 October 2002 21:41:24 UTC