[xml-h] picking up the thread

[Simon St.Laurent]

davep@dpawson.co.uk (Dave Pawson) writes:
>I'd still like to step back from the how brigade
>(I see this very much related to the ID'ness args on tag list)
>and ask what the 'end user' i.e. customers want out of links,
>then look at data modelling and the more usual world of how
>to achieve it.
>
>As an author I want to say quite a bit when I author a link.
>I want (end result) the end user to be able to navigate
>across that link to the target.
>I want the link content to be informative
>      THis will take you out of this page
>      This will take you to fred bloggs site
>       (inference, if you aren't connected don't go there)
>        If your pipe is dead slow don't bother
>      If you're interested in this excursion go see
>      whatever.
>I want the app that's rendering the link to ensure its available
>(compare the mac sad face with the 404 == bsod) and tell me kindly
>that it ain't working, even why its not working?
>
>I want to get back if needed (bookmark this page).
>I want to go to the right place in the page (no cranky HTML
>limitations please).
>
>If the app can offer more, then we're into USP's.

What are USP's?

There are a couple of pieces I'd like to add:

I'd like to be able to create links from content I don't directly
control.
  
I'd like to be able to create links that have scope over more than a
single page.

>I'd prefer this sort of end user (author and recipient) discussion
>to preceed the how to do it discourse.

That seems like a good idea, but there are at least two other people
involved.  For the moment we can discount the programmer, who may or may
not be an end user.  The other key person is a maintainer, who may or
may not be the same person as the author.  Maintainers seem to get the
most pain and the least respect in this business. 

-- 
Simon St.Laurent
Ring around the content, a pocket full of brackets
Errors, errors, all fall down!
http://simonstl.com -- http://monasticxml.org