Re: Issue-57

On Fri, Jun 24, 2011 at 11:54 AM, Xiaoshu Wang <xiao@renci.org> wrote:
> On 6/24/11 11:32 AM, "Jonathan Rees" <jar@creativecommons.org> wrote:
>
>>On Thu, Jun 23, 2011 at 11:36 PM, Xiaoshu Wang <xiao@renci.org> wrote:
>>>
>>> First, let me make this clear. I have never denied the problem you
>>> described here is not a problem. My argument has always been
>>>httpRange-14
>>> is a wrong solution to the problem.
>>
>>What I have always heard you say is that httpRange-14 was not a
>>solution to any problem. That's a very different position. I'm glad
>>you've come around; getting you to agree that it *is* a solution,
>>however inadequate, was my only goal here.
>
> Let me be clear. My position has never be changed. I don't think
> word-playing here does any good.
>
> Any solution must be doing something because it will otherwise not be
> called a solution. But a solution can be evaluated to be good by the
> criteria of whether it can do something. If this is the point of argument,
> then let's not waste time debating any solution.
>
> My criteria of evaluating a solution is to see if it does more *harm* than
> *right*. And by that criteria, I think httpRange-14 is a *bad*, if not
> *wrong*, solution because the web with httpRange-14 is much more
> difficult, if not impossible, to work with.

You are saying that the solution comes with a cost, and I agree. You
are also saying that the cost is unacceptable, and I am undecided on
that - it certainly looks to me like a judgment call - and from where
I stand the Web without httpRange-14 is much more difficult for *me*
to work with, so I make the call the other way. In any case what we
need to start with is a different way of solving the same problem -
the problem of expressing information (such as title, license terms,
etc.) about documents on the web. Otherwise you're comparing apples
(designs in which problem A is addressed but not problem B) with
oranges (vice versa).

What is your solution to that problem? You've said you don't know what
metadata is, so let's just start with statements using Dublin Core
elements and the xhtml vocabulary (license and so on).

Jonathan

Received on Friday, 24 June 2011 16:31:33 UTC