OT (Re: HTML vs XHTML)

Spartanicus wrote:
This is not a help desk, it's a discussion group.

To function properly it is important that people do not restart
discussions that have been thrashed to death, they should find the
answer in the archives.

I've been on Usenet since 1992. I don't need your opinion to inform me what a newsgroup is or is not, or how it should or shouldn't be used to realize its potential. Maybe you weren't around back in those days, or maybe years of the "new" internet have made you jaded.

It was commonly accepted then that technical NGs such as this one were places that people could use as a resource to get solutions. This isn't alt.fan.ricky-martin or something, where we can "discuss" back and forth with no goal or objective in mind other than the discussion itself. We're not here solely to discuss the vagaries and philosophies of markup design without any practical application. Most of us are here because at one time or another we've run into real-life problems and need practical solutions. We ask for advice at those times, and those who have been around a little longer and gotten help in the past themselves try to offer suggestions. Ofttimes those suggestions amount to "educate yourself, resources at <url>" but that's OK.

So trying to tell me that I shouldn't be able to expect a constructive answer to a question is a joke. If you can't further a discussion by adding to it constructively, don't say anything at all. _That's_ what a discussion group is - people having meaningful and relevant discourse. If all you can add is "go search the archives" then close this group down and replace it with a pointer to Google. News hosts don't maintain an unlimited history of groups' postings, so it's not always easy to go back. Maybe a group has an archive, or maybe not. Even now that Google seems to be fulfilling that role nigh-universally, it's still not a panacea because searching doesn't guarantee you'll necessarily find the best resource - in a group like this, there are probably thousands of posts that mention "html" and "xhtml". I was duly diligent in searching recent discussions, as appropriate for NG netiquette - my original question itself alluded to the fact that I'd heard of the issue (which I couldn't have if I hadn't been) but not the reasoning behind it.

With this in mind, I hardly thinks it's inappropriate to ask the NG at large to point me in the right direction. If you don't want to help me, fine, no one's forcing you to spend your valuable time on me. I certainly don't have the expectation that I'll get an answer, though I am hopeful. But why spend your time to give a non-answer? That only wastes everyone's time. If you don't have an answer, don't reply!

Yeah, I could take the time to wade through thousands of posts - I know how to search, and can certainly use those skills here. Pointing me to a particular thread (or answering any question from anyone) doesn't do you any immediate good, that is true. But at some point I may have a suggestion to contribute toward a dilemma of yours, and that's what makes NGs like this work. It's a community of knowledgable people willing to contribute for mutual benefit and edification.

Given that searching can be difficult and NG histories are often limited, and given that our time is precious and no one likes to have it wasted in rehashing material, I am more than happy to accept a pointer to a reference - specifications, documentation, past threads - as an answer. However, archiving your non-answer is a waste of resources and contributes absolutely nothing to the collection of knowledge. Archiving a pointer to existing information results in more people finding what they need more quickly when they do searches in the future.

Apologies for the long OT rant.

Tim
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