3 ms·

Interestingly, your comment is very similar to the Gemini FAQ "2.9 Why didn't you just use Markdown instead of defining text/gemini?" [1] [1] https://gemini.ci

Interestingly, your comment is very similar to the Gemini FAQ "2.9 Why didn't you just use Markdown instead of defining text/gemini?" [1] [1] https://gemini.circumlunar.space/docs/faq.gmi https://gemini.circumlunar.space/docs/faq.gmi

merb 4y ago
https://xkcd.com/927/ https://xkcd.com/927/
- timdaub 4y ago
  https://timdaub.github.io/2022/08/28/six-unpopular-opinions-about-software-standard-development/ https://timdaub.github.io/2022/08/28/six-unpopular-opinions-...
  - necovek 4y ago
    This fails to differentiate a "standard" from simply a "specification" (of a format, protocol, language...). I.e. we don't say "PostScript standard", but rather a "PostScript specification". All of the claims they make apply to any specification, and yes, divergence is necessary to make progress. A standard is a commonly agreed to specification, frequently ratified in one or another international organization (ISO, IETF, ECMA, W3C...). The main value of a standard is in ensuring interoperability where that matters more than all the other concerns raised. Eg. we'd never have much of the internet if people didn't simply settle on the IP (v4) protocol.
    - deleted 4y ago
      [deleted]
    - timdaub 4y ago
      nice, excuse my ignorance I had actually never seen it differentiated in that way but it makes a lot of sense.
- harryvederci 4y ago
  This xkcd is always posted when anything related to a standard is mentioned, but almost never in response to a standard that was actually created to unify all standards in its space.
  - necovek 4y ago
    That's a pretty narrow reading of that XKCD: even the examples it gives are not the result of attempting to unify a set of standards. Eg. AC chargers had a bunch of different, diverged "standards" for pretty much restricted use-cases (those 1.5mm x 4mm connectors and then micro- and mini-USB). Text encodings had multiple standards for encoding the same text (eg IBM, Windows code pages and ISO encodings) without unification attempts. In both of these examples, there is one unifying standard added (USB-C and UTF-8 + Unicode) that did stop the proliferation of new standards. But majority of things never result in one unifying standard that can do everything win: even SGML brough up in this discussion is an example. CORBA also springs to mind.
- anthk 4y ago
  Gemini it's the needed standard between Gopher, tied to small devices with a 80 column display, and the Web with enforced encyption for security but without requiring lots of resources.

merb 4y ago

https://xkcd.com/927/ https://xkcd.com/927/

timdaub 4y ago
https://timdaub.github.io/2022/08/28/six-unpopular-opinions-about-software-standard-development/ https://timdaub.github.io/2022/08/28/six-unpopular-opinions-...
- necovek 4y ago
  This fails to differentiate a "standard" from simply a "specification" (of a format, protocol, language...). I.e. we don't say "PostScript standard", but rather a "PostScript specification". All of the claims they make apply to any specification, and yes, divergence is necessary to make progress. A standard is a commonly agreed to specification, frequently ratified in one or another international organization (ISO, IETF, ECMA, W3C...). The main value of a standard is in ensuring interoperability where that matters more than all the other concerns raised. Eg. we'd never have much of the internet if people didn't simply settle on the IP (v4) protocol.
  - deleted 4y ago
    [deleted]
  - timdaub 4y ago
    nice, excuse my ignorance I had actually never seen it differentiated in that way but it makes a lot of sense.
harryvederci 4y ago
This xkcd is always posted when anything related to a standard is mentioned, but almost never in response to a standard that was actually created to unify all standards in its space.
- necovek 4y ago
  That's a pretty narrow reading of that XKCD: even the examples it gives are not the result of attempting to unify a set of standards. Eg. AC chargers had a bunch of different, diverged "standards" for pretty much restricted use-cases (those 1.5mm x 4mm connectors and then micro- and mini-USB). Text encodings had multiple standards for encoding the same text (eg IBM, Windows code pages and ISO encodings) without unification attempts. In both of these examples, there is one unifying standard added (USB-C and UTF-8 + Unicode) that did stop the proliferation of new standards. But majority of things never result in one unifying standard that can do everything win: even SGML brough up in this discussion is an example. CORBA also springs to mind.
anthk 4y ago
Gemini it's the needed standard between Gopher, tied to small devices with a 80 column display, and the Web with enforced encyption for security but without requiring lots of resources.