Web Standards Out of Control
The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) launched an HTML5 logo last January 18, 2011 which caused quite a stir in the web development community. The announcement came with this statement:
Now there is a logo for those who have taken up parts of HTML5 into their sites, and for anyone who wishes to tell the world they are using or referring to HTML5, CSS, SVG, WOFF, and other technologies used to build modern Web applications.
-- W3C Introduces an HTML5 Logo, W3C.org
Two days later, the Web Hypertext Application Technology Working Group (WHATWG) contested that the HTML5 logo program does not replace "HTML" as the official term for the the web design standard and proclaimed instead that HTML is the new HTML5.
In response to mostly negative community feedback, including criticisms from The Web Standards Project (WaSP), W3C retracted on January 21, 2011 to say that the logo "represents HTML5, the cornerstone for modern Web applications." WaSP is requesting W3C to create a new moniker for the umbrella of modern web technologies.
W3C and WHATWG are currently in disagreement with regards to how HTML should progress. While W3C maintains the traditional practice of versioning their standards (e.g.: HTML 4.01, HTML5), WHATWG pushes HTML to be a "living standard", thus the removal of the version number.
W3C has been criticized for delays in delivering the HTML5 standard which is currently still in a working draft status. WHATWG acknowledges that there are "solid" HTML5 specs that can be implemented into products already. Web browser manufacturers could already start supporting these features. Because WHATWG maintains HTML as a living document, using their specification could allow web browser manufacturers to support specific HTML5 capabilities immediately without having to wait for W3C to officially complete their work on HTML5.
Whether W3C or WHATWG's published proposal would prevail depends on the support of implementors like Microsoft, Mozilla, Google, Apple and Opera. W3C is still the official source of web standards and maintains authority. However, WHATWG's influence is respected in the web development community, which includes W3C itself. Although WHATWG publishes their own HTML specification, most major web browser manufacturers still refer to the HTML5 specification from W3C.
The recent war of words between W3C and WHATWG may be considered power-struggles. In a way, WHATWG's "rebellion" is a wake-up call to W3C's incapacity to deliver HTML5 in time. The web development community takes this divide seriously. Although the effect should be transparent from the web users, the burden falls on the shoulders of web page designers and web site developers who would directly use HTML(5) in their works. If the divide becomes unmanageable up to the time when web browsers get released, the situation can take users back to the early years of the browser wars: where some web sites may not work unless the user is using a specific version of a web browser. Worse comes to worst, W3C and WHATWG's divide can be destructive to the web in general contradicting the goals of web standardization as advocated by WaSP.
W3C is an international community where member organizations, a full-time staff, and the public work together to develop Web standards. W3C develops technical specifications and guidelines through a process designed to maximize consensus about the content of a technical report, to ensure high technical and editorial quality, and to earn endorsement by W3C and the broader community.
WHATWG is a growing community of people interested in evolving the Web. It focuses primarily on the development of HTML and APIs needed for Web applications. Their main focus is on the HTML standard.
WaSP fights for standards that reduce the cost and complexity of development while increasing the accessibility and long-term viability of any site published on the Web.
Now there is a logo for those who have taken up parts of HTML5 into their sites, and for anyone who wishes to tell the world they are using or referring to HTML5, CSS, SVG, WOFF, and other technologies used to build modern Web applications.
-- W3C Introduces an HTML5 Logo, W3C.org
Two days later, the Web Hypertext Application Technology Working Group (WHATWG) contested that the HTML5 logo program does not replace "HTML" as the official term for the the web design standard and proclaimed instead that HTML is the new HTML5.
In response to mostly negative community feedback, including criticisms from The Web Standards Project (WaSP), W3C retracted on January 21, 2011 to say that the logo "represents HTML5, the cornerstone for modern Web applications." WaSP is requesting W3C to create a new moniker for the umbrella of modern web technologies.
W3C and WHATWG are currently in disagreement with regards to how HTML should progress. While W3C maintains the traditional practice of versioning their standards (e.g.: HTML 4.01, HTML5), WHATWG pushes HTML to be a "living standard", thus the removal of the version number.W3C has been criticized for delays in delivering the HTML5 standard which is currently still in a working draft status. WHATWG acknowledges that there are "solid" HTML5 specs that can be implemented into products already. Web browser manufacturers could already start supporting these features. Because WHATWG maintains HTML as a living document, using their specification could allow web browser manufacturers to support specific HTML5 capabilities immediately without having to wait for W3C to officially complete their work on HTML5.
Whether W3C or WHATWG's published proposal would prevail depends on the support of implementors like Microsoft, Mozilla, Google, Apple and Opera. W3C is still the official source of web standards and maintains authority. However, WHATWG's influence is respected in the web development community, which includes W3C itself. Although WHATWG publishes their own HTML specification, most major web browser manufacturers still refer to the HTML5 specification from W3C.
The recent war of words between W3C and WHATWG may be considered power-struggles. In a way, WHATWG's "rebellion" is a wake-up call to W3C's incapacity to deliver HTML5 in time. The web development community takes this divide seriously. Although the effect should be transparent from the web users, the burden falls on the shoulders of web page designers and web site developers who would directly use HTML(5) in their works. If the divide becomes unmanageable up to the time when web browsers get released, the situation can take users back to the early years of the browser wars: where some web sites may not work unless the user is using a specific version of a web browser. Worse comes to worst, W3C and WHATWG's divide can be destructive to the web in general contradicting the goals of web standardization as advocated by WaSP.
W3C is an international community where member organizations, a full-time staff, and the public work together to develop Web standards. W3C develops technical specifications and guidelines through a process designed to maximize consensus about the content of a technical report, to ensure high technical and editorial quality, and to earn endorsement by W3C and the broader community.
WHATWG is a growing community of people interested in evolving the Web. It focuses primarily on the development of HTML and APIs needed for Web applications. Their main focus is on the HTML standard.
WaSP fights for standards that reduce the cost and complexity of development while increasing the accessibility and long-term viability of any site published on the Web.
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