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This was not avoidable. Had the XHTML2 standard been adopted by many, browsers would have still had to support all the other non-X HTML documents, which would

This was not avoidable. Had the XHTML2 standard been adopted by many, browsers would have still had to support all the other non-X HTML documents, which would have never disappeared. HTML5, with the exception of the new elements, just formalized the existing web parsing strategies for better cross compatibility. As a web user, I don’t miss the days of XHTML sites randomly completely breaking because some tag wasn’t closed. As a developer, I only miss XHTML2’s support for `href` on any element.

ChrisSD 7y ago
> As a web user, I don’t miss the days of XHTML sites randomly completely breaking because some tag wasn’t closed. Ironically that was a very rare event in practice. For it to even possibly happen, three things had to come together which were still uncommon even at XHTML's height: 1. The page had to be written as XHTML 2. The page had to be served as XHTML 3. The page had to be parsed as XHTML Usually at least two of those things weren't happening.
- Vinnl 7y ago
  The second didn't happen precisely because people wanted to avoid the sites completely breaking. So it didn't happen because people avoided XML, in practice.
  - ChrisSD 7y ago
    That was my point. The "days of XHTML" barely existed outside the minds of a relatively small number of developers.
    - zmix 7y ago
      It doesn't make much sense to state things, I can't back up with references (I do not remember where I read it), but a few months ago I read, that by 2006 (or 2008) 60% of all web pages were XHTML. Now, whether that means, that they have been served with the right media-type, I do not remember, but what I know, is that "nerdy" places, and that includes Steam, HumbleBundle.com and GOG.com, were all running on XHTML. So, it was not just a bunch "the minds of a relatively small number of developers".
      - ChrisSD 7y ago
        I'm not sure where your information comes from because it sounds very suspect to me. Sure XHTML was a thing in nerdy circles, I know because I was one of them, but we were hardly the majority. The vast majority of sites were "HTML 4.01" others were at best "XHTML 1.0 Transitional" (which in practice meant the same thing). Those using pure XHTML were relatively few. And of those who did, no major site served it as such because it would have locked out IE users, IIRC.

ChrisSD 7y ago

> As a web user, I don’t miss the days of XHTML sites randomly completely breaking because some tag wasn’t closed. Ironically that was a very rare event in practice. For it to even possibly happen, three things had to come together which were still uncommon even at XHTML's height: 1. The page had to be written as XHTML 2. The page had to be served as XHTML 3. The page had to be parsed as XHTML Usually at least two of those things weren't happening.

Vinnl 7y ago
The second didn't happen precisely because people wanted to avoid the sites completely breaking. So it didn't happen because people avoided XML, in practice.
- ChrisSD 7y ago
  That was my point. The "days of XHTML" barely existed outside the minds of a relatively small number of developers.
  - zmix 7y ago
    It doesn't make much sense to state things, I can't back up with references (I do not remember where I read it), but a few months ago I read, that by 2006 (or 2008) 60% of all web pages were XHTML. Now, whether that means, that they have been served with the right media-type, I do not remember, but what I know, is that "nerdy" places, and that includes Steam, HumbleBundle.com and GOG.com, were all running on XHTML. So, it was not just a bunch "the minds of a relatively small number of developers".
    - ChrisSD 7y ago
      I'm not sure where your information comes from because it sounds very suspect to me. Sure XHTML was a thing in nerdy circles, I know because I was one of them, but we were hardly the majority. The vast majority of sites were "HTML 4.01" others were at best "XHTML 1.0 Transitional" (which in practice meant the same thing). Those using pure XHTML were relatively few. And of those who did, no major site served it as such because it would have locked out IE users, IIRC.