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30 years after HTML was invented to support accessibility and collaboration for research and academia and the same day the White House released their new access

30 years after HTML was invented to support accessibility and collaboration for research and academia and the same day the White House released their new accessibility guidance which happens to be the first time they've published formal new policy natively has HTML rather than PDF - https://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/management/ofcio/m-24-08-strengthening-digital-accessibility-and-the-management-of-section-508-of-the-rehabilitation-act/ https://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/management/ofcio/m-24-08-stre...

murphyslab 3y ago
I feel surprised by how succinct, easy-to-understand, and sensible the policy (M-23-22) is: > Default to HTML: HyperText Markup Language (HTML) is the standard for publishing documents designed to be displayed in a web browser. HTML provides numerous advantages (e.g., easier to make accessible, friendlier to assistive technology, more dynamic and responsive, easier to maintain). When developing information for the web, agencies should default to creating and publishing content in an HTML format in lieu of publishing content in other electronic document formats that are designed for printing or preserving and protecting the content and layout of the document (e.g., PDF and DOCX formats). An agency should develop online content in a non-HTML format only if necessitated by a specific user need. https://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/management/ofcio/delivering-a-digital-first-public-experience/ https://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/management/ofcio/delivering-a...
- wolverine876 3y ago
  Hmmm ... accessibility is essential, but PDF is far better for static documents: There's no straightfoward, standard way to read an html document on another platform. Also, the html document may not be readable in 10+ years (unlike most PDFs), and updates are too fluid and hard to track. I think the general problem is that the end-user doesn't control an html document, e.g., for annotation, as a local record, etc.
  - shakow 3y ago
    > There's no straightfoward, standard way to read an html document on another platform. What do you think of the epub format?
    - wolverine876 3y ago
      I wish so much for it: Despite all our advances, we lack an editable, local, multimedia, platform (and form-factor) independent, self-contained file - essentially a word-processing file for the 21st century (and I mean it's almost a quarter-century overdue). epub has that potential as a format, and being based on web standards it has capability, a universe of supporting tools and technology, and easy adoption to different applications. But I haven't heard anyone else express that particular interest, and as of a few years ago epub doesn't allow annotations and is not stable (i.e., I don't know that today's epub file will be readable in 20 or 50 years) - two essential requirements for a serious local content, imho. And even if it meets those specifications, we need epub editors that are the equivalent of word processsors for non-technical users.
  - LordDragonfang 3y ago
    ...What are you talking about? HTML files are readable on basically every platform, even moreso because they are fundamentally text files (unlike PDFs, which are binaries). PDFs need special software, html can be read on the command line. Likewise, HTML is dead simple to edit and annotate. Seriously, name a single device that has PDF support that doesn't allow you to view HTML. I think you're conflating "html" and "things stored on a server", because all of your objections apply to pdfs stored on a server. The ability to save and annotate pdfs is not an inherent feature of the file format, they exist because the format is such a PITA to interact with that specialized programs have to be written. HTML can be saved just as easily, and usually is (on archive.org).
    - wolverine876 3y ago
      How do I save an HTML document locally, and annotate it, in an easily sharable form, and in a form that is stable - i.e., in a way that will be readable and useable in 20-50 years?

murphyslab 3y ago

I feel surprised by how succinct, easy-to-understand, and sensible the policy (M-23-22) is: > Default to HTML: HyperText Markup Language (HTML) is the standard for publishing documents designed to be displayed in a web browser. HTML provides numerous advantages (e.g., easier to make accessible, friendlier to assistive technology, more dynamic and responsive, easier to maintain). When developing information for the web, agencies should default to creating and publishing content in an HTML format in lieu of publishing content in other electronic document formats that are designed for printing or preserving and protecting the content and layout of the document (e.g., PDF and DOCX formats). An agency should develop online content in a non-HTML format only if necessitated by a specific user need. https://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/management/ofcio/delivering-a-digital-first-public-experience/ https://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/management/ofcio/delivering-a...

wolverine876 3y ago
Hmmm ... accessibility is essential, but PDF is far better for static documents: There's no straightfoward, standard way to read an html document on another platform. Also, the html document may not be readable in 10+ years (unlike most PDFs), and updates are too fluid and hard to track. I think the general problem is that the end-user doesn't control an html document, e.g., for annotation, as a local record, etc.
- shakow 3y ago
  > There's no straightfoward, standard way to read an html document on another platform. What do you think of the epub format?
  - wolverine876 3y ago
    I wish so much for it: Despite all our advances, we lack an editable, local, multimedia, platform (and form-factor) independent, self-contained file - essentially a word-processing file for the 21st century (and I mean it's almost a quarter-century overdue). epub has that potential as a format, and being based on web standards it has capability, a universe of supporting tools and technology, and easy adoption to different applications. But I haven't heard anyone else express that particular interest, and as of a few years ago epub doesn't allow annotations and is not stable (i.e., I don't know that today's epub file will be readable in 20 or 50 years) - two essential requirements for a serious local content, imho. And even if it meets those specifications, we need epub editors that are the equivalent of word processsors for non-technical users.
- LordDragonfang 3y ago
  ...What are you talking about? HTML files are readable on basically every platform, even moreso because they are fundamentally text files (unlike PDFs, which are binaries). PDFs need special software, html can be read on the command line. Likewise, HTML is dead simple to edit and annotate. Seriously, name a single device that has PDF support that doesn't allow you to view HTML. I think you're conflating "html" and "things stored on a server", because all of your objections apply to pdfs stored on a server. The ability to save and annotate pdfs is not an inherent feature of the file format, they exist because the format is such a PITA to interact with that specialized programs have to be written. HTML can be saved just as easily, and usually is (on archive.org).
  - wolverine876 3y ago
    How do I save an HTML document locally, and annotate it, in an easily sharable form, and in a form that is stable - i.e., in a way that will be readable and useable in 20-50 years?