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Why HTML does not matter

Ever since this whole xHTML versus HTML debate started I’ve been asking myself why is this an issue? To this day nobody has offered any plausible line of reasoning to help me make the argument for switching to any particular format.

2005-06-03 / 11:12

10 Comments

By Hayo Bethlehem
06/04/2005 12:56 AM
Hazerswoude Rijndijk
I'm afraid I completely agree with you, as you probably guessed.
By david currey
06/04/2005 04:12 AM
london
svg in the deer park bulds is fun though. First reason I've had to reall use xhtml flavour properly.
By Faruk Ate?
06/04/2005 05:06 PM
The Netherlands
Exactly! This is the message I tried to convey in my <a href="http://kurafire.net/articles/case-for-xhtml">Case for XHTML</a> article... now, 7~8 months later, there are still people not getting it. :/
By Robin
06/09/2005 09:16 AM
UK
Well said, I didn't really see it until reading your article but i can really see where you're coming from.
By nortypig
06/19/2005 03:43 AM
Hobart, Tasmania
Thankyou for letting me know I'm not insane delivering XHTML as HTML. It's my preference like you say. I don't know why it's so fervently argued about either and I've been almost stalked for using XHTML this way. It's like some people troll the specs interpreting the semantic implications of the fine print...

Great article I'll be linking to immediately.
By Douglas Clifton
06/19/2005 05:40 PM
Washington, DC
Many of the folks that are re-igniting the XHTML vs. HTML debate are really only after one thing: the debate itself. Which translates into only one motivation: traffic, recognition, PR.

As far as mainstream adoption of XHTML goes, or the lack of it: The mainstream will only switch when there is some economic benefit of doing so. As long as the majority of browsers in the market support sloppy code they won't care. Firefox is changing this, thankfully.

In the meantime, I think it's important for those of us supporting the use of XHTML (and doing so properly) to continue to do so as we set an example to others.

I recognize most of the names here, cheers all! ~d
By Egor Kloos
06/19/2005 11:49 PM
Rotterdam, The Netherlands, Europe, Earth etc...
I've been thinking about the swashbuckling being done with the phrase "sloppy code". When I look back being able to write sloppy code is actually a blessing from the heavens. If IE didn't from the ground up allow for 'sloppy code' so that everybody would have to write according to the W3C equivalent to the hitchhikers guide xHTML would never have seen the light of day. It exists at the mercy of so-called fault tolerant browsers.
If everything was ridged we would also sacrifice innovation and progressive thinking to a greater degree than that is the case today.
By James
07/27/2005 10:37 AM
Perth, Australia
I often code a lot of XSL, so when writing 'HTML' I prefer XHTML, as I can stay in the same frame of mind that I'm in when I'm dealing with XML. That's my main reason for going with XHTML, along with the satisfaction of conforming to a stricter set of standards (less practical, but self-gratifying at any rate). And yeah, the X is more exciting...
By Shaun Shull
02/07/2006 06:40 AM
Oregon USA
I tend to agree with you on the practical merits of xHTML vs HTML today although I do see the XML factor slowing creeping into the scene through the use of <a href="http://blog.usweb.com/archives/how-microformats-affect-search-engine-optimization-seo/" rel="vote-for">standardized microformats</a>. As <a href="http://www.technorati.com">popular</a> online properties begin to adopt this new wave of semantic markup it makes more sense to me to adopt the xHTML standard than to not.
By Egor Kloos
02/07/2006 06:19 PM
Rotterdam, The Netherlands, Europe, Earth etc...
Indeed, the issue surrounding mimetypes still isn't conclusive. As you suggest it's content and the path innovation seems to be taking that will actually make xHTML a more logical choice from the outset of a project. Switching syntax / format for an existing project would still seem to be a matter of taste and possibly whimsical. Is the effort worth the gain? I say no. I also don't regret switching to xHTML and will continue to use this flavour of HTML.
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