While it it true that virtually all html documents which currently exist use one of the two methods described for referencing a stylesheet this is because there is currently no other way to reference a stylesheet.
By providing the new and, IMO, intuitive way of referencing a stylesheet using it's own tag allows for greater human readability and understanding and forgoes the seemingly obtuse method of having to actually embed css in the tag to load the source file. The corollary would be to have to use javascript in a script tag to load a javascript file. In addition, the link tag is overused in this respect and should be discouraged from being used to reference specific documents which are top-level facets of a html document, especially in html5 where css and javascript are defacto and essential in construction of any useful modern web page. For example, who would use the link tag to reference a javascript file? This tag is for generic use and while it can be used for any purpose, css style documents should not be forced through this hole. In the same light, it could be said that the new semantic tags: header, nav, aside, etc are all currently possible using the more generic <div class="header"/> method, and none of the currently existing documents <= html4 will never be changed either. I don't really see any valid reason for not including this enhancement other than the probably unappealing task of editing a specification which is well due and in need of ratification. I would also point out that the link tag actually uses href and not src although the implications appear inconsequential. If there are any implications maybe someone could explain the difference in implementation between the two? Peace, Cam
