[uf-discuss] Jeremy's inline friend link pattern

[Jeremy Keith]

Paul Wilkins wrote:
> It remains to be asked then, where is the citation?
> The contents of the CITE element contains the object being cited, so
> where is the subject?
> You cannot have a citation without a subject.
>
> How can you have any pudding if you don't eat your meat?!

But that's not what the spec says at all, as far as I can see. Your  
interpretation is that you can only use the CITE element if you are  
citing something *from* a resource (book/film/person, etc.). But I  
can't find any mention of that in the spec. As far as I can see, the  
CITE element can (and should) be used when you are *referencing* a  
resource (book/film/person, etc.) regardless of what the surrounding  
context is.

So in HTML I could say:

The film <cite>Gone With The Wind</cite> contains the line <q>Frankly  
my dear, I don't give a damn</q>.

But I could equally say:

<cite>Gone With The Wind</cite> is a film.

Or even:

<cite>Gone With The Wind</cite>

You seem to be suggesting that only the first example is the correct  
use of the CITE element. That's not the case. All three are fine.

You ask "where is the citation?" That's what the BLOCKQUOTE and Q  
elements are for. The CITE element is not supposed to be used for  
citations, it is used for references. That would be a lot clearer if  
the element were named REFERENCE instead of CITE. I think that, like  
the ADDRESS element, it is the confusing name choice for the element  
that it is leading to a lot of misunderstanding.

The CITE element is not a CITATION element.

Bye,

Jeremy

-- 
Jeremy Keith

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