[thelist] Site check: Staples.com

[Kasimir K]

Shawn K. Quinn scribeva in 2005-09-21 05:02:
> On Wed, 2005-09-21 at 10:08 +1000, Robert Gormley wrote:
>>It's now inappropriate to publish any closed proprietary format material 
>>on the web?
> 
> I would say for the majority of cases, it always has been.
...

I think that when one makes this kind of statement one should emphasize 
that it is NOT a fact, recommendation, specification or anything like 
that - it is the writers own opinion having nothing to do with the Web 
at large.

> In general, locking up information in proprietary formats (including
> binary executables specific to a given operating system and/or hardware)
> runs counter to the goal of wide distribution of information, which is
> what the Web is about.

When somebody goes and tells with the sound of authority what the web 
really is about - unless they are Tim Berners-Lee - well...

 From "Architecture of the World Wide Web, Volume One", first sentence 
of the introduction: [0]
"The World Wide Web (WWW, or simply Web) is an information space in 
which the items of interest, referred to as resources, are identified by 
global identifiers called Uniform Resource Identifiers (URI)."

That's what web is about, identifying resources. And about the format of 
said resources: "Web architecture does not constrain which data formats 
content providers can use."[1]

So when one says that the Web is about "wide distribution of 
information" and that it's inappropriate to publish any material in 
closed format, then they are presenting their own, very arguable, 
opinions as facts - I find that kind of self-proclaimed messianism 
rather unprofessional.

.k

[0]http://www.w3.org/TR/webarch/#intro
[1]http://www.w3.org/TR/webarch/#formats