[uf-discuss] Authority (was: Text::Microformat - a uf parser for Perl)

[Jeremy Keith]

Keith Grennan wrote:
>> I agree.  I really hope "microformat" won't turn into just another
>> term for "semantic HTML."  Clear communication is difficult enough
>> already without additional ambiguity.
>>
>
> I think it already has.
>
> It's like Adobe trying to control how people use the word 'photoshop'.

It certainly seems to be heading that way. But now that we recognise  
this problem (it was discussed quite a bit at the microformats dinner  
in SF recently), we can't try to take steps to help clarify the  
situation. POSH advocacy is a good start. It may be a silly name but  
it's an important step in making it clear that microformats are  
narrowly defined but built on top of semantic markup -- a much wider  
pool:
http://microformats.org/wiki/posh

> As the popularity of the term microformat grows, you might have to  
> look
> for higher ground that's easier to defend.  Because really, who  
> wants to
> spend their time and energy being language police?

I hope it won't come to that but you're right about the language  
police: I feel like I've spent most of today blogging, leaving  
comments and responding to emails in an attempt to set people  
straight on what does and doesn't constitute a microformat. But like  
I said, at least now that we recognise the problem, we can make a  
concerted effort to deal with it. I hope that work won't be Sisyphean.

> ps. I realize that I'm a newcomer to this community, so I hope I'm not
> offending anyone.  Hopefully my comments are valuable as an outsider's
> first impression.

As an newcomer, your comments are probably the most valuable and  
relevant on this issue. Much appreciated.

Bye,

Jeremy

-- 
Jeremy Keith

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