The net-net of the discussion this week with the W3C and their hosting or pointing to a modified RSS 2.0 spec is that at this time, before trusting any advice it gives based on RSS, you must be sure that it's covered by the original spec. #
In the discussion we had with the W3C, the sysop of their website said clearly and I believe innocently that the modified "version" of the spec is what they're using to guide the validator.#
It's frozen. It says it clearly in the roadmap, which explains why it's frozen, developers need stability. #
All that happened over twenty years ago. And it worked. RSS is one of the most broadly supported formats on the web. It's the basis for podcasting. It's widely supported by news orgs and blogging software. All kinds of systems have been built around RSS. Twenty years of development.#
In the W3C's defense, I gather they inherited the validator, and the people who wrote it originally were trying to steer people away from RSS to another format. They wanted their ideas in all our feeds, and used the validator to get their way. In the end their steering people to the other format didn't do any real damage that I could see, just added unnecessary confusion. #
But I have to draw the line at the W3C. We respect them and itmatters that they respect RSS, the roadmap first and foremost. I'm not trying to get them to fix the validator, just know that the spec they're citing is not playing by the rules. We need the W3C to support RSS, not undermine it. #
To be clear, it's perfectly OK for any validator to offer advice based on an extension in the form of a namespace, or a profile, or based on a format not named 'RSS' (which can of course be anything you want) but you can't claim to be validating against RSS if you're citing a modified version of the spec. There are no modifications allowed, that's part of the spec. It's a rule, and a validator that breaks that rule is not validating RSS. #
I believe I've explained this from every possible angle. 😄#
Net-net, until it's fixed -- be careful with the W3C's advice re RSS. #
Last update: Wednesday June 28, 2023; 8:34 AM EDT.
You know those obnoxious sites that pop up dialogs when they think you're about to leave, asking you to subscribe to their email newsletter? Well that won't do for Scripting News readers who are a discerning lot, very loyal, but that wouldn't last long if I did rude stuff like that. So here I am at the bottom of the page quietly encouraging you to sign up for the nightly email. It's got everything from the previous day on Scripting, plus the contents of the linkblog and who knows what else we'll get in there. People really love it. I wish I had done it sooner. And every email has an unsub link so if you want to get out, you can, easily -- no questions asked, and no follow-ups. Go ahead and do it, you won't be sorry! :-)
