[thelist] Re: Why code for standards

[tommy]

I've been reading this thread with interest. A lot of very good (and
a few really odd) points have been made but I keep coming back to a
ludicrously simple point that no one else has mentioned;

The Internet itself is not a technology. Despite the best efforts of
some it is not under the control of a single manufacturer, it is not
protected by patents, and it available in a box from the shelf of
your local Radio Shack.

The Internet is a collection of agreed standards that allow many
diverse technologies to exchange data.

Personally, I feel it is my responsibility to code for these
standards wherever possible and practical. Surely these agreed
standards are the only thing that stands between the Internet (an
accessible pool of humanity's collective knowledge) and it becoming
The Internet (tm, all rights reserved, pat pending, accessibility
subject to status, actual contents may vary from those shown).

Any thoughts..?

tommy


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