Re: Toward Closure on HTML

Rob Raisch, The Internet Company (raisch@internet.com)
Tue, 5 Apr 1994 11:20:13 -0700 (PDT)

Dan suggests:
> But I would like to introduce one change to the way P elements work: I'd
> like to make the P element a paragraph container rather than a paragraph
> separator. The only required change is to put a <p> tag at the beginning of
> every paragraph -- we can use the OMITTAG feature to make </p> tags
> implicit. It makes for a much cleaner DTD in many ways, and it just makes
> more sense.

HURRAH! Praise the maker, another has come into the light.

This idea comes around every so often. It is a good idea. It
is the correct thing to do. I believe we should do it.

<SOAPBOX>
Having said that, I'd like to go on record as stating that I don't
believe we ever WILL do it.

There is a feeling that anything which breaks current practice -- even
though it is the correct and logical thing to do, even though it fixes
something which has been broken since HTML was first created -- is BAD.

Would you like to see HTML (and what it can become) served out of every
cable box/information superhighway control widget in the country? I
would. I think it's strong enough. I think it's the right choice.

Let's build tools for the future - not tools shackled to the past.
</SOAPBOX>

-- </rr> Rob Raisch, The Internet Company
Fix the documents. Don't cripple the language.