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The Web as An Ecosystem

Don’t you feel sometimes you are in the middle of an action movie and when you have time to rest a bit, you realize that you were running all along. Then the action is restarting. It never stops.

So let’s see. First a kind of “revue de presse”

These are parts of all the things I have read this last month related to HTML 5 work, among other things. Many of these posts express valid concerns, sometimes misunderstandings and passions for the Web. It is not only about the posts themselves but also the comments left under these posts.

Variety and diversity of opinions, antagonistic statements from people with different kind of background make the development of HTML 5 a very challenging topic. The Web is an ecosystem, with all the complexities, it implies. (Ecosystem, Wikipedia)

An ecosystem is a natural unit consisting of all plants, animals and micro organisms in an area functioning together with all the non living physical factors of the environment.

I will try in the next days to come back on some of the ideas which have been expressed and trying to make a link in between these communities. Keep in mind the goal of all of this is to make people talk together. Keep in mind that people have different opinions about what should be done.

Filed by Karl Dubost on June 21, 2007 1:39 AM in HTML, Opinions & Editorial
| | Comments (5) | TrackBacks (0)

Comments

thacker # 2007-06-21

Dubost--

Am greatly looking forward to your ideas, comments and analysis.

I do want to make one small point regarding ecosystems and the metaphor to the Web. Please do NOT construe it as nitpicking.

An ecosystem consists of your referenced definition but includes divergent biologies and physical factors that create a system were balance exists and/or is created.

The key is that divergence is a key in creating balance.

I believe that perspective may be of importance.

Karl Dubost, W3C # 2007-06-21

Yes, diversity is important in an ecosystem. It means also that often this diversity helps the ecosystem to be at the equilibrium by answering different needs. For example, if we strech the metaphor a bit too much. XSL and CSS are two technologies with similar goals but addressing two different topics. RDF and XML as well.

In the same way, there are Web developers, browsers implementers, Web designers with different goals and different actions on the ecosystem, but if we want the ecosystem to survive we must have a cooperation on both sides.

soso # 2007-06-22

Yes, the web seems like an eco-system but the main reason of that is that it is only a numeric representation of our real world with all its complex, numerous, causal effects between each entities.

But the web is developing more faster than the real world as we could compare a year on the web with a "dog year" in a real world, i.e. 7 years ;)

We should consider that facts...

Kirit # 2007-07-15

You provoked me into finishing off my pet peeves on problematic (X)HTML from the perspective of building a content management system.

http://www.kirit.com/Annoying%20HTML

As you can see I've been working on it for more than 6 months. All I can say is I'm a slow typist :(

Joern Puetz # 2007-11-05

It seems like an eco-system but the main reason of that is that it is only a numeric representation of our real world with all its complex, numerous, causal effects between each entities

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