[xml-h] picking up the thread

[Dave Pawson]

At 12:11 19/01/2003 -0500, Simon St.Laurent wrote:

>I think I need to get a better idea of who you're considering end users.
>
>I don't think readers of hypertext will particularly care where their
>links come from,

+1

>  and the most we can really hope for is that they'd at
>least consider selecting links from a context-sensitive pop-up menu,
>say, rather than remaining forever bound to blue underlined text or its
>equivalent.

Yes, that's where I'm trying to get to. Blue Underlined Plus (BUP)

Hence the end user to me is the person reading the hyperlinked text.
Equally, the author of a hyperlink is a customer?



>I don't think authors of hypertext are nearly as locked into the HTML
>way of doing things (where all outbound links come from the document
>owner) as you seem to suggest,
I tried not to sound locked in. I'm simply trying to see what an author might
'like' in an alternative system. A natural starting point for me is todays 
product.


>Has hypertext beyond HTML-style hypertext swept the world?  No.  Does
>that mean we should stop talking about possibilities beyond HTML-style
>hypertext?  I really hope not.

Surely the (crass / base ) idea is to generate something that you believe
would be taken up by Microsoft or Netscape?

>Perhaps, though I stopped buying IBM desktops when I realized what an
>incredible nuisance they were to open up and repair.  Straight-headed
>screws and single-use plastic screws were not my friend.  Easy
>maintenance demanded features like a smarter layout and phillips-head
>screws.  I have many of the same issues with cars, and Saturn's decision
>to install motors with a priority on easier owner access to
>owner-maintainable parts made a huge difference in my purchasing
>decision.  (My wife's Miata - augh!)

I believe that to be the maintainers view of the world.
Equally I don't think this view sells product.



>I'm not looking for a "new whizz bang version" at this point.  I'm
>looking for tolerable ways to do hypertext with XML.  I think SkunkLink
>may be a crucial part of the answer, as Micah's taken what we've learned
>from HTML and generalized it minimally.  That's not a recipe for "hot
>cakes", but it does let us get real work done.

OK, it doesn't have bells and whistles, but its a 'new' version of BUP,
or at least an advance on it? Surely that's one thing you/we are looking for?


>My own VELLUM work is not intended for that large an audience,
To which audience do you address your comments then Simon?






> >Maintenance issues are  generally a constraint, not a selling feature
> >in my experience.
>
> >From my perspective, no one thought about maintenance in HTML, and it's
>been very difficult to build maintenance on top of HTML as a result.

Perhaps the addition of a maintenance layer on top of the end user solution
wasn't addressed? I can't say.
   I'd hope that any solution, once proffered, can then be considered from
a couple of other angles, e.g. authoring and maintenance.

>Selling kludges is definitely difficult.

<grin/> Is it? I know a  company doing very well selling kludges.
Latest offering is a new kludge every two years!

regards DaveP