[uf-discuss] Bioformats - microformats for biology

[Ben Ward]

On 24 Jan 2009, at 08:49, Manu Sporny wrote:

> lists at ben-ward.co.uk wrote:
>> This community very intentionally doesn't try create specifications  
>> for
>> everything. Previous pure-science efforts such as species died  
>> because
>> it fell way outside the area of active interest of most of this
>> community's participants.

Apologies to anyone still working and implementing species work. I'd  
underestimated the traction. My point about collaborative interest  
being an important part of a microformat developer stands, but clearly  
my example was wrong. Sorry about that.

> While I do agree that it's important that this community is careful
> about what it works on, we shouldn't be exclusive and we shouldn't
> assume that we know where certain community members want to focus  
> their
> attention. If a couple of people want to come into the Microformats
> community to develop their vocabularies, we shouldn't say that there
> isn't a place for them.

Absolutely *anyone* should be welcome to work within the process of  
this community on use its resources (both people and tools) to support  
their work. But, in being welcoming we mustn't be closed to the idea  
that some groups or subject matter won't fit with us and could be more  
successfully developed in a different manner. We share the class  
attribute, and we are but one citizen in HTML semantics.

> I, for one, would be interested to see how a bioformats discussion  
> would
> evolve *ba-dum-bum* =P

FNAH!

Ahem, yes: I'd be interested to read along with it and see the work  
happen here, for sure. (Aside: Personally I'd have nothing to  
contribute until later in the process when they reach the point of  
wanting peer review from the POV of it being a ‘microformat’, and so  
on, rather than the actual semantics expressed in it, but I would be  
prepared to offer that sort of input to as many specs as I can afford  
the time to assist.)

Ben