New HTML Group Reinventing HTML

Interesting article from the Decentralized Information Group talking about an HTML group which is being developed, whose goals include reinventing HTML as we know it.

Any development of HTML needs to be in minor increments. We’ve seen the movement, or lack there-of, to XHTML. The browsers all worked the same so who really cared, right?

timbl writes:

Some things are clearer with hindsight of several years. It is necessary to evolve HTML incrementally. The attempt to get the world to switch to XML, including quotes around attribute values and slashes in empty tags and namespaces all at once didn’t work. The large HTML-generating public did not move, largely because the browsers didn’t complain.

A new HTML group is in the works:

The plan is to charter a completely new HTML group. Unlike the previous one, this one will be chartered to do incremental improvements to HTML, as also in parallel xHTML. It will have a different chair and staff contact. It will work on HTML and xHTML together. We have strong support for this group, from many people we have talked to, including browser makers.

XHTML2 is the way of the future.

There is also a plan for a separate group to work on the XHTML2 work which the old “HTML working group” was working on. There will be no dependency of HTML work on the XHTML2 work.

What ever the development of HTML brings with it will be welcomed. The major aspect that needs to be looked at carefully is having everyone move together. Web designers are lazy, I know that because I’m one of them. Why learn a new standard if you’re not being forced to? Browser makers need to force these changes upon web designers. Only then will the true potential of HTML, XHTML, XML, CSS, and all the other technologies be seen.