"uid" microformats? (was Re: [uf-discuss] ISBN mark-up)

[Scott Reynen]

On Apr 26, 2006, at 10:44 AM, Tantek Çelik wrote:

> Ross, if the problem you're trying to solve doesn't involve common  
> real
> world publishing cases on the *Web*, then yes, it should be  
> dismissed as far
> as microformats are concerned.

A large portion of what is published on the web references things  
that don't exist on the web, and thus don't have a canonical URL.  As  
markup geeks, we all have our own URLs to represent ourselves.   
Normal people don't.  That doesn't mean normal people don't publish  
on the web.

> This is the wrong place to solve problems
> that don't fit those constraints.

Publishing on the web is a good constraint for microformats.  Having  
a canonical URL on the web suitable for a UID is a bad constraint for  
a microformat.  I think there has been ample room left for  
misunderstanding over which is being advocated as a constraint.   
Clearing up this ambiguity would be more productive than repeating  
the same truisms over and over again.  If we didn't understand what  
you meant the first time you said something, putting asterisks around  
it won't help.

> Voices on a mailing list don't determine the 80 vs. 20.  That's the  
> point of
> the process.  Documented real world publishing examples on the web  
> determine
> the 80 vs. the 20.

Right.  I think saying "80% of people do X" without pointing to the  
real world publishing examples that back up such a statement makes it  
look like voices on this mailing list are determining the 80 vs. 20.

> Until you can prove that URNs are nothing more than
> edge case on the Web, then this is not worth discussing any further.

Until you can prove that such ultimatums are conducive to developing  
a common understanding of what these things mean, I think everyone  
should stop talking like lawyers here and start talking like people  
interested in developing a common understanding of what these things  
mean.  Isn't that the whole point of microformats?

Peace,
Scott