[uf-discuss] Visible Data...a Microformat requirement?

[Scott Reynen]

On Oct 24, 2006, at 3:41 AM, Mike Schinkel wrote:

> Is there a clear and definitive objective statement that explains  
> the class
> of problems that microformats are intended to solve?

I've not sure the context of this question, but I think the closest  
we have is from the about page [1]:

"Designed for humans first and machines second, microformats are a  
set of simple, open data formats built upon existing and widely  
adopted standards. Instead of throwing away what works today,  
microformats intend to solve simpler problems first by adapting to  
current behaviors and usage patterns (e.g. XHTML, blogging)."

> Further, if there is
> such a statement, is there a reason to limit Microformats to only  
> be used to
> solve that class of problems when they otherwise can solve additional
> problems?

Yes, there are other tools better suited to solving problems outside  
the scope of microformats, and trying to duplicate these efforts is a  
waste of time that could be otherwise spent solving previously  
unsolved problems.  See the "microformats are not" section on the  
about page [1].  For an example that that answers the question in the  
subject of this email, RDF is a well-established standard for  
publishing invisible data.

[1] http://microformats.org/about/

Peace,
Scott