mailing-lists

Mailing Lists

Read the microformats discuss page first.

Then read the mailing list policies.

Ok, now here are some additional notes of scope and topics for each list.

microformats-discuss

For general discussion of microformats, with a strong leaning towards:

• starting out with microformats
• real-world content authoring

good topics for discussion

Here is a list (certainly not definitive) of good topics which are appropriate for the microformats-discuss list:

• general thoughts on the design and use of semantic XHTML markup
• how to use and write microformats in content
• how to use microformat design patterns in content

good topics that belong somewhere else

• see microformats-dev good topics for discussion

bad topics

Here is a list (also not definitive) of topics which are undesired and inappopriate for the microformats-discuss list. In fact, they're not even worth the time to bother discussing, so please do not bring them up on the microformats-discuss list.

• How to make a "general purpose" (micro)format. Go read what microformats are not, actually, go read the entire principles page. Sometimes this may masquerade as a "format of formats". Either way, it is one of those boil the ocean ratholes which are a waste of time for microformats.
• Using namespaces and namespace prefixes. In short, namespaces are neither necessary (the Internet ran just fine without them for decades, go read some RFCs), nor desirable (prefixes make formats far uglier and more difficult to hand-code).

microformats-dev

For discussion of microformats development, with a leaning towards:

• anything that involves writing code
• abstractions / models (in contrast to actual content)

good topics for discussion

These tend to be topics that belong in microformats-dev instead of microformats-discuss. This list is also not definitive, but illustrates the general areas:

• microformat parsing
• microformat "(auto)-discovery"
• comparisons of microformats with other data abstractions or data representations (e.g. XML, RDF)
• compatibility/interoperability of microformats with other data abstractions or data representations

microformats-rest

For discussion of use of microformats with REST, in protocols, services, APIs etc.