Some educational software advocates and I are considering
asking the IETF to suspend control of certain aspects of
HTML forms from the W3C until microphone upload issues are
addressed.
I am very interested in any public comments and private
opinions on this matter. Please follow up or reply as you
see fit.
This is in no way a proposal to remove control of HTML --
other than regarding form device upload issues as per:
http://www.bovik.org/device-upload.html
-- from the W3C. I would not be suggesting this proposal
if my appeal regarding W3C process was being treated
seriously; there have been no replies to my appeals, or
to questions from others, and and email to the www-forms
list (claimed to be "public" on the W3C site) is still
not being published.
Cheers,
James Salsman
[The following analysis appeared in the March/April edition of
"Extra!" magazine, published by Fairness and Accuracy in
Reporting (www.fair.org.) The author, Norman Solomon, is a
widely-published media analyst. I believe the facts below can be
partly explained by the closed and commercialized nature of the
World Wide Web Consortium, especially in regard to HTML forms
developments. These paragraphs are reproduced for their "fair"
educational use. :jps]
What Happened to the "Information Superhighway?"
A few numbers tell a dramatic story about extreme changes in
media fascination with the Internet.
In 1995, media outlets were transfixed with the Internet as an
amazing source of knowledge. Major newspapers in the U.S. and
abroad referred to the "information superhighway" in 4,562
stories, according to the Nexis database. Meanwhile, articles
mentioned "e-commerce" or "electronic commerce" only 915 times.
Over the next few years, while Internet usage continued to grow
by leaps and bounds, the news media increasingly downplayed
"information superhighway" imagery (with a mere 842 mentions in
major papers in 1999.) But media mania for electronic commerce
exploded. In 1999, major newspapers mentioned e-commerce in
20,641 articles.
Five years ago, there was tremendous enthusiasm for the emerging
World Wide Web. The phrase "information superhighway" suggested
that the Web was primarily a resource for learning and
communication. Today, according to the prevalent spin, the Web
is best understood as a way to make and spend money.
The news media's recalibration of public expectations for the
Internet has occurred in tandem with the steady commercialization
of cyberspace. More and more, big money is weaving the Web, and
the most heavily trafficked web-sites reflect that reality.
Almost all of the Web's largest-volume sites are now owned by
huge conglomerates.
Establishing a pantheon of cyber-heroes, media coverage has cast
businessmen like Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos, and Steve Case as great
visionaries. If your hopes for the communications future are
along the lines of Microsoft, Amazon.com, and America Online,
you'll be mighty pleased. -- Norman Solomon