4 ms·

Maybe it should be their role. Arguably, things like browser standards are as important to society as electrical or network standards.

Analemma_ 3y ago
Maybe, but it's a moot point, because there's no way to get from here to there. If the browser vendors want to add a standard, they will; and if they don't, they won't. On one or two prior occasions the W3C has proposed something that the browser makers didn't like, they unanimously told the W3C to go pound sand, and that was the end of it.
Semaphor 3y ago
But then you’d also need a world police who enforces that.
- colordrops 3y ago
  Who enforces electrical and network standards? Those don't require world police.
  - KRAKRISMOTT 3y ago
    > Who enforces electrical and network standards? Those don't require world police. Most blocs have their own standards. Commonwealth countries follow one standard, EU countries another, North American engineering standards are not the same as Japanese ones.
PaulHoule 3y ago
I wrote postal letters to the FTC, the president, my senators and congressman telling them to investigate WEI as another monopoly move on the part of Google and highlighted that the FBI says you should use an ad blocker. You should too.
- tptacek 3y ago
  The letter to the FTC might do something, in a statistical sense, if they're already tracking the correspondence they're getting because this issue is in their purview. The other letters are a waste of paper and ink.
  - PaulHoule 3y ago
    See https://www.ftc.gov/about-ftc/bureaus-offices/bureau-competition/contact-information https://www.ftc.gov/about-ftc/bureaus-offices/bureau-competi... for the FTC's contact information
tptacek 3y ago
It can't be their role. Standard organizations enjoy no de jure authority at all. The most they could possibly do is certify all the other "complying" browsers as "W3C-approved", and nobody cares who doesn't already care about the particulars here.
wnevets 3y ago
> Maybe it should be their role. Who would grant them such a authority and how would it be enforced?
- tedunangst 3y ago
  Can't wait for the FBI to bash in my door for running curl because it fails to meet established legal criteria for browser operation.
deleted 3y ago
[deleted]
TheAceOfHearts 3y ago
The W3C had their chance in the early 2000s and they hyperfixated on XML nonsense while browser and web evolution stagnated. I'm not saying that the status quo is perfect, but if we want W3C to try again then we should make sure we don't run into the same issues 20 years ago.
- Qwertious 3y ago
  And here I thought web evolution stagnated in the early 2000s due to IE6. It's vital we don't get locked into a single dominant browser that ignores open standards whenever it's convenient to them.
  - TheAceOfHearts 3y ago
    The web's stagnation was not monocausal. IE6 was bad, but W3C wasn't doing anything to help beyond fixating on XML work that never went anywhere. I agree we shouldn't let a single web browser dominate. I'm just saying that the W3C doesn't have any power to do so nor have they shown themselves capable of pulling it off.
bawolff 3y ago
[flagged]

Analemma_ 3y ago

Maybe, but it's a moot point, because there's no way to get from here to there. If the browser vendors want to add a standard, they will; and if they don't, they won't. On one or two prior occasions the W3C has proposed something that the browser makers didn't like, they unanimously told the W3C to go pound sand, and that was the end of it.

Semaphor 3y ago

But then you’d also need a world police who enforces that.

colordrops 3y ago
Who enforces electrical and network standards? Those don't require world police.
- KRAKRISMOTT 3y ago
  > Who enforces electrical and network standards? Those don't require world police. Most blocs have their own standards. Commonwealth countries follow one standard, EU countries another, North American engineering standards are not the same as Japanese ones.

PaulHoule 3y ago

I wrote postal letters to the FTC, the president, my senators and congressman telling them to investigate WEI as another monopoly move on the part of Google and highlighted that the FBI says you should use an ad blocker. You should too.

tptacek 3y ago
The letter to the FTC might do something, in a statistical sense, if they're already tracking the correspondence they're getting because this issue is in their purview. The other letters are a waste of paper and ink.
- PaulHoule 3y ago
  See https://www.ftc.gov/about-ftc/bureaus-offices/bureau-competition/contact-information https://www.ftc.gov/about-ftc/bureaus-offices/bureau-competi... for the FTC's contact information

tptacek 3y ago

It can't be their role. Standard organizations enjoy no de jure authority at all. The most they could possibly do is certify all the other "complying" browsers as "W3C-approved", and nobody cares who doesn't already care about the particulars here.

wnevets 3y ago

> Maybe it should be their role. Who would grant them such a authority and how would it be enforced?

tedunangst 3y ago
Can't wait for the FBI to bash in my door for running curl because it fails to meet established legal criteria for browser operation.

deleted 3y ago

[deleted]

TheAceOfHearts 3y ago

The W3C had their chance in the early 2000s and they hyperfixated on XML nonsense while browser and web evolution stagnated. I'm not saying that the status quo is perfect, but if we want W3C to try again then we should make sure we don't run into the same issues 20 years ago.

Qwertious 3y ago
And here I thought web evolution stagnated in the early 2000s due to IE6. It's vital we don't get locked into a single dominant browser that ignores open standards whenever it's convenient to them.
- TheAceOfHearts 3y ago
  The web's stagnation was not monocausal. IE6 was bad, but W3C wasn't doing anything to help beyond fixating on XML work that never went anywhere. I agree we shouldn't let a single web browser dominate. I'm just saying that the W3C doesn't have any power to do so nor have they shown themselves capable of pulling it off.

bawolff 3y ago

[flagged]