I think one issue is the scope of the Web and HTML. I see people posting the
announcement of the "Accounting Dept" meeting on the local server. I see
university students maintaing the english class server. I see 2nd graders
(This is no joke) posting things to the spanish club server. I see really
ugly messages made by those 2nd graders with all kinds of crazy fonts and
styles (Because I have seen enought times what 2nd graders do when given a
font menu). But I also don't think that I should take that font menu away
from those 2nd graders. I also see a desire for those 2nd graders to share
their ugly pages with their "sister school" in Mexico. Using the web. Using
HTML.
I also see publishers and (gasp) advertiers, many of whom I have talked to,
some of whom have a clue about the internet, but most of whom just thing its
this thing they need to get into or be left behind (Like the print shops who
didn't get on the desktop/electronic publishing wave). I strongly believe we
can add some simple capabilities to HTML to make it possible for those
advertisers to get accross their image the way they wanted it. I suppose we
could tell them just just embed a GIF (or JPEG). But REAL WORLD applications
can't be that slow. And like Mcom, I know that I can add these capabilities
to my products, reach 95% of the computer users out there (Mac and Windows).
Unlike Mcom, I AM CONCERNED about standardization. Thats why I am spending
time reading/writing to those group when I should be coding. Thats why I go
to the IETF meetings. (I appologize for missing WWW'94 in Chicago, but my
schedule did not allow it).
But I'm afraid I can't afford to be a sementic text purist. <JOKE> After
all, those 2nd graders are counting on me.</JOKE>
Alex Hopmann
ResNova Software
PS: How many other people are coming to the IETF in San Jose?