Here are some of the common sense rules for evolving a standard: 1. Keep the standards simple. Avoid adding features if you can. Standards define implementatio

Here are some of the common sense rules for evolving a standard: 1. Keep the standards simple. Avoid adding features if you can. Standards define implementations. Don't invert that pattern and make the standards morbidly obese. 2. Keep the features orthogonal. Don't create multiple ways of doing the same thing. Make sure that each feature plays well with the the others. 3. Maintain backwards compatibility. Don't break anything that depends on your standard. Don't frustrate your implementers and their customers with an endless game of whack-a-mole. 4. All the above are on a best-effort basis. Exceptions are acceptable under exceptional circumstances. For some reason, the WHATWG has the diametrically opposite belief on all the above. Perhaps they should be called the Web upside-down standards. You have no problem adding features to the standards faster than anyone can read it. But maintaining and upgrading an old feature is somehow too far beyond your capability to justify keeping it around. I guess it's back to uni for me to figure out how I got this so wrong.