> -----Original Message----- > From: Dave Watts [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] > Sent: Friday, March 07, 2003 11:52 AM > To: CF-Talk > Subject: RE: The New Macromedia Website > > > > I agree that market factors can and do drive technology > > adoption, but a basic foundation must be in place first > > - and the W3C has given, and continues to give, us that > > foundation. It's not always on target (for example neither > > PNG or SMIL have particularly taken off) but what is? > > > > Flash may have achieved market dominance via pure market > > forces, but HTML, HTTP, CSS, SOAP, and XML have achieved > > market dominance via the work of the W3C. Niether force > > can be discounted or marginalized. > > I think I can safely discount and marginalize the > contributions of the W3C to a significant degree. They, like > any other standards body, are typically on the trailing edge > of technology, not the leading edge. The history of web > technology could glibly be summarized as vendors adding new > features, followed by the W3C adopting them into their > standards. Vendors adopt standards when it suits their > interests, and go their own ways when it doesn't. This seems > to be changing a bit, now, as interoperability becomes more > important to more people, but was especially true in the > early days of the web, when Netscape and Microsoft were > introducing new "HTML" tags in their browsers on what seemed > like a weekly basis.
For HTML this may have been the case, but market forces did force thecompanies to adopt the core standards farily quickly. That's not stopping them fro adding features (and the W3C isn't demanding that they don't) but it does level the playing field. Also this didn't (and really couldn't) happen with W3C technologies like HTTP and XML. These are foundational technologies; enabling technologies. Almost by definition any well-thought out, peer-reviewed standard is going to "trail" current technology. The world is full of in-use technology that really just isn't that great (my favorite example is yENC on usenet) because it meets some need "well-enough". It then takes a standards body time to consider the ramifications of the technology and how it fit's into the broader picture. > > The W3C is also, I believe, the only organization that > > can bring about the promises of the Semantic Web, common > > Ontologies and many other foundational technologies. > > Don't get me wrong, I'm all for standardization. But the W3C > can't bring about doodly-squat. All it can do is help vendors > do what they want to do, if they want to do it. I'm just put off by the extreme nature of your comments. Is there no room for moderation? Can you honestly say XML achieved the widespread adoption it enjoys solely due to vendor implementations? How abot HTTP? Also, and I'm worried that people simply don't know what the W3C IS anymore, please remember that the vendors you're talking about are not at odds with the W3C, they ARE the W3C. It's a mostly vendor-based group with ideas and direction coming from the vendor community. In general there's a very distinct line between architectural technologies and presentational technologies. The W3C is much more likely to be a driving force in the former than in the latter. In the latter the W3C is generally seen as a baseline effort (with vendors claiming "standard plus" featuresets). Lastly would it be so bad if, as you say, that the W3C "only" helped vendors do what they want to do? Assuming this means "in the least disruptive way" isn't that a good, needed and noble purpose? How would the landscape look today if there were no HTML or HTTP standards? Would we, like we do in the graphics and office arenas being installing dozens of file-format filters with all or of our browsers to support all the other browsers? Would we even be able to see other browser content without a common transport mechanism? There is room, and a need, for both market drivers. The web is a controlled free market space. Controlled by the foundational rules laid out by the W3C. Jim Davis ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~| Archives: http://www.houseoffusion.com/cf_lists/index.cfm?forumid=4 Subscription: http://www.houseoffusion.com/cf_lists/index.cfm?method=subscribe&forumid=4 FAQ: http://www.thenetprofits.co.uk/coldfusion/faq Get the mailserver that powers this list at http://www.coolfusion.com Unsubscribe: http://www.houseoffusion.com/cf_lists/unsubscribe.cfm?user=89.70.4
