xml-dev - RE: CNET on XHTML

["Hunter, David" <dhunter@Mobility.com>]

From: Daniel Veillard [mailto:Daniel.Veillard@w3.org]
Sent: Wednesday, September 15, 1999 5:14 AM

<snip/>
> I guess Ann
> and other members of that working group did explain the reasons of
> their technical decision.
<snip/>

Let me just echo Simon St. Laurent:

No.  We have no reason.  We have nothing.

This "debate" has been going on since August 28th.  I get dozens of emails
every day from the mailing list on this subject.  (Actually the numbers have
died down recently; perhaps xml-dev has come to a bit of a consensus.)  But
we have no "reason for the technical decision".  Nobody officially came
forward from the WG and said "Oh, I see you're debating our namespace
decision.  We made it because..."  Even worse, there is no explanation on
the XHTML spec.  (Because not everyone subscribes to xml-dev.)

The CLOSEST I can find are some emails from a single WG member, Ann Navarro,
from way back at the beginning of the debate, where she says that there are
three flavours of XHTML, so there should be three namespaces.  (Obviously
paraphrased.)  But she could never say "we made the decision because..."; in
fact, she couldn't speak on behalf of the group at all (which is
understandable).

(Apologies to Ann for singling her out once again.  I realize she's taken a
lot of heat on the group over this debate, since she's the closest thing
we've had to an actual "official response".)

If the working group wants to explain their decision, I'd suggest putting up
a page on the W3C site somewhere with the explanation, so the whole world
can see it and not just xml-dev, and then post the URL to the group (and any
other groups which may be interested).  Or modify the XHTML draft itself,
although I'm betting this is more complicated than just adding the changes.

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