Meet the 2024 TAG Candidates: Xiaocheng

（中文版见页末）

What is the most important problem the Web Platform faces that the TAG could reasonably address, and how will you start to address it if you're elected?

The TAG should maintain an architecture of the Web Platform that keeps its openness and potential for the future: more use cases, more scenarios, more operating systems, more types of devices, more implementations, and etc. If I was elected, I'll make sure designs impose no or minimal limits to such possibilities, for example, features designed for PC but incompatible with car infotainments; features designed for browsers but incompatible with MiniApps; features that depend on expensive sequential CPU-bound algorithms... And I'll favor feature designs that do the opposite.

The TAG has a lot of things it can do or is asked to do, what should the TAG prioritize in the coming year?

There are two areas that I think are very important: DID (or Web3 in general) and AI. They are the future of the Web that are already happening, and much more work needs to be done.

What kinds of reviews should go to the TAG, how should the TAG triage reviews, and how can you help the group be more comfortable rejecting reviews it doesn't have time for?

The TAG should focus on high-level and cross-area reviews, and reject reviews that are out of TAG's scope: too simple, too low-level, too specific in one area, and etc. I can help demystifying the role and scope of TAG in the feature design process, so that the TAG can more comfortably reject reviews that are out of the scope.

Do you want the Team to release the anonymized ballots from this election? Why or why not?

No. I don't see how that information will be substantially helpful to me. When it's related to privacy, we should follow the principle that no user information, anonymized or not, should be released if there's no actual usage.

The TAG has a problem with members failing to show up and do the needed work. How much time do you have to commit to TAG work? Do you have travel or scheduling constraints?

2 days a week. No travel or scheduling restrictions, though I prefer APAC-friendly working hours.

What skills, expertise, and perspectives do you have that the continuing TAG members and other TAG candidates lack?

My diverse background should help. Thanks to the years working at Google and living in the US, I'm experienced in the development of web engines and web standards, and have a deep understanding of the principles a good design should follow. Now, as a Technical Expert at Huawei Hong Kong, I'm also familiar with the web ecosystem in China that is prosperous and unique but not well understood by the browsers and standards communities outside China. I can provide a different angle when looking at issues, especially when there are significant differences in e.g. user demands, cultural and ethical concerns, regulation requirements, etc. and bridge the gap.

If you disagree with a feature's design, how will you decide between just saying that it's bad, vs trying to improve its design as much as possible?

In my understanding, a feature design is fundamentally about use cases, solutions and risks. If the use cases are weak or invalid, or if the proposed solution doesn't solve the target use cases, I'll reject it with that reason. Otherwise, I'll consider the feature potential and seek for improvements. For example, if it's difficult to use or easy to misuse in certain scenarios, I may make ergonomics suggestions; if it's risky to be abused or exploited, I'll suggest restrictions. Or in any case, I may just point our the issues and ask for more work to be done.

Can you show us an example of a time you found a way forward between people who initially disagreed strongly?

I have that experience when working at Google and developing the CSS Anchor Positioning feature. At first, it was mainly Google driving the development, all the way until the draft spec reached FPWD. Then Apple made an alternative proposal with a drastically different design, and caused a lot of split opinions in the WG. I made a thorough comparison of the two proposals, and then set CSSWG meeting agenda to discuss every difference, and found ways to move forward. Eventually, we have merged the best aspects of both proposals into the spec, and have also added a lot of new ideas.

What mistakes has the TAG made recently?

From my experience, not many people understand the role of the TAG in the development process -- being part of the Chromium launch process had only made it worse. The talk at TPAC 2024 helped a lot, and I hope there will be more similar work.

中文版

当前 Web 平台面临的最重大问题中，有什么是 TAG 可以有效解决的，而你若当选将如何着手解决？

TAG 应当维护一个开放且面向未来的架构，以支持更多的场景、更多的操作系统、更多的设备、更多的实现等等。如能当选，我将尽力确保新的设计不会带来这方面的限制，例如那些只适应 PC 却不适应车机的设计，只适应浏览器却不适应小程序的设计，依赖昂贵的串行 CPU 算法的设计等。与此同时，我将支持更具普适性的设计。

TAG 有很多事情可以做。明年应当优先进行那些工作？

我认为有两个领域至关重要：DID 去中心化身份技术（或者各种 Web3 相关技术）以及 AI。这两个领域代表了 Web 的未来，且相关技术已经开始影响我们的日常生活了，但是在 Web 方面我们还有很多工作需要做。

TAG 应该接受哪些类型的审查工作，应该如何分流工作，以及你将如何帮助 TAG 更好地拒绝那些没有时间处理的审查？

TAG 应该着重于高层次、跨领域的审查工作，并拒绝不在其工作范围内的审查，例如太简单、太底层或限定于特定领域等。我可以帮忙宣传 TAG 在整个设计审查流程中的工作职责和范围，从而方便 TAG 更好地拒绝那些工作范围外的审查请求。

本次选举中，你希望公开匿名化处理后的选票信息吗？为什么？

不希望。我不知道我应当将如何使用这些信息。但凡涉及用户隐私问题时，我遵循如无确切用途则不公开的原则，无论匿名化与否。

TAG 常有成员未能出席必要的活动或工作的问题。你愿意为 TAG 工作投入多少时间？你是否有旅行或者时间规划上的限制？

每周两天。我没有旅行或者时间规划方面的限制，但是希望能在方便亚太区的时间内工作。

你有什么技能、专长或者视角是当前 TAG 成员以及其它候选人所不具备的？

我的多元化的背景应当有所帮助。我曾在美国生活并在谷歌 Chrome 浏览器组工作多年，熟悉浏览器引擎的开发以及各种 Web 标准的细节，并且对 Web 标准设计应当遵循的原则有深入的理解。当前，我就职于华为香港研究所，对于中国的 Web 生态也有充分的了解——独特而繁荣，但国外对此了解不足。我相信在面对各种问题时，我能够提供一个不同的视角。尤其是当面临各种不同的用户需求、文化习惯、伦理顾虑、监管要求等的时候，我希望能够作为一道桥梁将各方连接在一起。

当你反对一个特性的设计时，你会如何决策？直接拒绝，或者尝试将其尽量改进？

以我的理解，一个特性的设计的根本要素是场景、解法以及风险。如果其场景太弱或是无效，或者其解法不足以支撑其场景，那么我会以此为原因直接拒绝。否则，我会衡量这个特性的潜力并且尝试改进。例如，如果该特性难以使用或者容易误用，那么我将尝试提供人因学 (ergonomics) 方面的建议；如果有被利用成为漏洞的风险，我会建议对其进行限制。当然，如果时间有限，我可能只会指出相应问题并要求改进。

请举亲身经历说明你能够协调巨大的分歧并继续推动进展？

我在谷歌工作并进行 CSS Anchor Positioning 特性的开发工作时有这样的经历。该项目启动后主要由谷歌推动，我们进行了相当多的工作，直至发布了首版 Published Working Draft 规范草案。此后苹果公司对于该特性发布了另一份提案，其中大部分设计与当前的规范草案都有较大差异。CSS 工作组讨论后也产生了相当大的分歧。此后，我对两份方案进行了细致的对比，设定了工作组议程进行了详细的讨论，从而使最终的规范草案不仅得以融合两家之长，且加入了很多原本没有的新灵感。

TAG 最近犯过什么错误？

根据我过往的经验，很多人对于 TAG 在整个开发流程中的职责不甚了解，导致其工作负担太重。Chromium 将 TAG 审查加入其特性发布审查流程亦导致此情况雪上加霜。2024 年 TPAC 上 TAG 主持了一个 breakout session 并对其职责、范围、理念等做了解释。我相信这对于改善 TAG 的处境很有帮助，并希望将来有更多类似的工作。