[uf-discuss] Microformats: working group vs. meme

[Andy Mabbett]

In message <457EB0D2.20609 at municorps.org>, Mark Murphy
<mmurphy at municorps.org> writes

>I think what Mr. Schinkel and Mr. Mabbett are running into is the
>apparent schism between microformats-as-working-group and
>microformats-as-meme.

Perhaps, though that hasn't troubled me much, so far.

>Microformats.org specifies a process plus a scope delimiter ("paving
>the cow paths") which are perfectly reasonable for a working group. In
>fact, in many ways, they're exemplary. However, they are more or less
>orthogonal to the microformats meme as expressed on the
>microformats.org home page:
>
>"Designed for humans first and machines second, microformats are a set
>of simple, open data formats built upon existing and widely adopted
>standards."

I've never liked that wording, which is vague to the point of being
unhelpful. Far better definitions have been provided by members of "the
community".

[...]
>when Mr. Mabbett added unAPI references to the wiki, he was
>(presumably) doing so to document a use of the meme;

Perhaps - I was certainly doing it allow the community to see what was
happening, to debate it, document it and influence it, in an open and
equitable manner.

>that page was then deleted (presumably) because it wasn't documenting
>an action of the working group.

Nowhere on the "how to play" page, at the time of my action, was that
expressed as a requirement. There are several pages on the wiki now,
which do not do so.

[...]
>-- Limit microformats.org to only those things that follow the process.
>In this case, somebody will eventually try to fork the meme, as there
>will be those who want to do microformats-esque things that don't fit
>the working group, and those microformats-esque things need a name
>that's cleaner than "microformats-esque".

Even if that path is chosen, documenting, debating and, if necessary ,
refuting (or even adopting and encompassing) the work of others, such as
the initiative I descried, need not be excluded.

-- 
Andy Mabbett
            *  Say "NO!" to compulsory ID Cards:  <http://www.no2id.net/>
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