[uf-discuss] Dublin Core as a microformat (was: Re: xfn and biographies)

[Tantek Ç elik]

On 1/30/08 4:16 PM, "Ben Ward" <lists at ben-ward.co.uk> wrote:

> Is that the only problem we'd be trying to solve in making a Dublin
> Core microformat?

Simply taking an existing format (like Dublin core) and reusing its
vocabulary as class names is insufficient to make a microformat.

microformats are based first and foremost on existing *content* publishing
behaviors, not first on existing *markup*, nor first on existing *formats*.

Only after existing *content* publishing behaviors are documented and
implied schema are thus determined does it make sense to document previous
attempts at formats for that type of content, and look at re-using *some* of
their vocabulary that maps to the implied schema determined by the
documented content publishing patterns.

Since this has come up a few times in the past (there seem to be lots of
folks that want to repurpose a previous format, no matter the actual utility
or use cases, into HTML, now that microformats has demonstrated the
usefulness of doing so), I've written up a process FAQ entry on this, and
expanded further upon it there.

<http://microformats.org/wiki/process-faq#Can_a_microformat_be_class_names_f
rom_another_format_vocabulary>

Thanks,

Tantek