23313 2013-09-21 10:45:37 +0000 Change definition of <cite> to allow it to refer to names of people, not just works 2013-09-23 15:50:52 +0000 1 1 1 Unclassified WHATWG HTML unspecified PC Windows NT RESOLVED WONTFIX P2 normal Unsorted 23008 1 rubys ian bruce chaals faulkner.steve ian mike public-html-admin public-html-wg-issue-tracking contributor oldest_to_newest 93614 0 rubys 2013-09-21 10:45:37 +0000 +++ This bug was initially created as a clone of Bug #23008 +++ CHange "The cite element represents the cited title of a work; for example, the title of a book mentioned within the main text flow of a document." to "The cite element represents the cited title of a work or the author of a quotation; for example, the title of a book mentioned within the main text flow of a document." And remove text "Although previous versions of HTML implied that the cite element can be used to mark up the name of a person, that usage is no longer considered conforming. The cite element now solely represents the cited title of a work; for example, the title of a book, paper, essay, poem, score, song, script, film, TV show, game, sculpture, painting, theater production, play, opera, musical, exhibition, legal case report, or other such work." Replace with "A common idiom for citing the author of some quoted text is to cite the author's name within the blockquote containing the quotation." This reverts to the HTML4 meaning of the element, restores millions of WordPress blogs to conformance (as they often use the cite element to represent the name of a commenter), and documents established use by authors in the wild - see http://lists.w3.org/Archives/Public/public-html/2013Aug/0082.html and http://oli.jp/example/blockquote-metadata/ 93647 1 ian 2013-09-23 15:50:52 +0000 We spent literally months discussing whether using <cite> to reference people was sane, and came to the conclusion that it was not. Please see past WHATWG list discussions. The benefits of doing this are far outweighed by the disadvantages.