/TR

W3C specifications on the Web

Diverse communities are looking at W3C specifications, including:

• Browser implementers, testers:
  latest spec to implement, otherwise look at stable for priorities at most
• Web Users, outside organizations:
  look for stable and upcoming
• Search Engines:
  where should they point folks to?

/TR today

https://www.w3.org/TR

• 1607 drafts, including 274 W3C Recommendations
• sortable by technology group, spec status, date, group, title, editor
• also accessible by tech buckets:
  "Web Design and Applications", "Web Architecture", "Semantic Web", "Browsers", …
• Also links to news items and talks

… /TR today

• No information on importance (css, plugins)
• Lack of maintenance (security, Identifiers)
• Lots and lots of old drafts …

What can we do?

1. Importance: rely on working groups and architecture/technology?
2. Maintenance: Reduce the number of categories and ensure proper maintenance
3. Deal with old drafts

Old drafts

1. Implement W3C Process:
   • Publish any unfinished specifications as Working Group Notes (EARL 1.0)
   • Obsolete specifications (2017 transition requirements)
2. Prioritize new technologies over old: clean-up /TR links and point to proper versions (Service Workers?!)

Cleaning /TR links

Project and proposals available on Github.

Preferred proposal so far:

• /TR/shortname/: latest highest version under development
• /TR/shortname/stable/: points to latest highest stable version
• /TR/shortname/ed: editor's draft (outside the /TR space)
• /TR/shortname-n/ still points to the latest published version of the level n
• /TR/shortname/all: cover page with list of the different versions

Alternative: Group decides whether shortname direct to stable or latest?

Moving beyond

• Process and Ongoing maintenance:
  W3C should be able to maintain a REC, even without a WG?
• What should /TR/shortname/ represent?
  and should it be retroactive? (e.g /TR/html/ and /TR/CSP/)
• Importance: rely on working groups and architecture/technology?