xml-dev - RE: RDF, the "semantic web", and the nadir of AI (was RE: Realist icprop

[Cavre <cavre@mindspring.com>]

***********Bullard, Claude L (Len) ***********

On 10/20/00 at 9:02 AM Bullard, Claude L (Len) wrote:

My intent is to remove the term "semantic web".  It
means too many different things to people.  It becomes
like the answer from the Delphic Oracle, "If you
go into battle, a great kingdom will be destroyed."
True no matter who won so she got to keep being an
oracle without contributing anything of value.  There
is a word for that:  vaporware.

Len

*********************************************************

I agree that the term "semantic" is a poor one for the
next generation web.  I prefer to think of a "semantic web"
as a "interactive web" whereby services, and information
changes by my actions using this new web.  The more
interaction I do upon this new web the better and more
efficient the web works for me providing me services and
information that is revelant to my needs at that given point.

The only problem I see with this "interactive web" that TBL
seems to envision is the amount of information kept about
one individual and the right to monitor, change, delete or
edit this information.  In today's web once I pass on information
to a service I have little or no control in how that information
is used and worse yet how this information is protected.  I
as a user of this web am forced to trust the good nature
of the service and hope that they respect the information
I have provided to them.  The good news is that except in
a few "VERY" isolated cases this respect has been honored.

As we build the next generation "semantic web" one of the
issues that I see we need to incorporate is to place a value
to the information  received from any service or information
source.  This "semantical" value will help me the end user
to determine the value of the information I receive from
the service or information source.  Something like -

subjective - in relation to the content
fact - a well proven data element
fiction - a untrue data element
definition - author defined notation
history - a data element that has expired and maybe outdated

In this context I think we will have to build a extension to the
web. Perhaps a new type of call rather then using HTTP. Maybe
SWID.  For example -

swid://fact/xml/developers/?list/-cav/cavre.xml

swid = semantical web interactive data
fact = data type
xml = subject
developers = group1
(possible multiple groups such as developers, designers, inventors)
?list = action (always proceeded by ? to let processor know this is a action)
-cav = limiters or extenders
 (in this example limit list to just those names beginning with cav)
 (a extension might look like "-cav+a" - or limit to cav but add a)
cavre.xml = specific data location where data is to be stored after processing.

Once we have the data we can than do anything
we want with it.  Of course all of this is wishful thinking,
but a semantical call to the web might appear something
like that.  But separating the semantics out we could build
a semantic node table in the background while the information
is being sent to the end user. Therefore when they click
upon any association within a document the semantical table
will change as needed to assist them in locating the data the end user
is looking for or maybe help the user understand the definition
intended by the designer of the document.

Cavre