Re: keybind and softkeytype [Fwd: Requests to HTML4.0 draft]

Jordan Reiter (
Fri, 22 Aug 1997 00:49:17 -0400

Date: Fri, 22 Aug 1997 00:49:17 -0400
Message-Id: <l03110700b022910a1641@[]>
To: Scott Isaacs <>,,
        "'Wayne Campbell'" <>
From: Jordan Reiter <>
Subject: RE: keybind and softkeytype [Fwd: Requests to HTML4.0 draft]

At 6:56 PM -0000 8/21/97, Scott Isaacs wrote:
>I am very concerned that we are considering adding and changing
>attributes in HTML 4.0 at this late date. My assumption is that the spec
>was basically closed and we are doing is finalizing and clarifying the
>specification. I would prefer that if keybind and accesskey are
>syntactically the same, but we retain the accesskey property that was
>spec'ed and accepted a very long time ago. There are a large number of
>tools (not Microsoft) that have already implemented the accessKey and
>there are shipping implementations and therefore pages on the web using
>For softkeytype, I would prefer that we address it post HTML 4.0 in a
>separate working draft. (same holds true if keybind turns out to be

I agree.  Frankly, I don't see why either of these *have* to be in the
specs.  Companies use proprietary extensions all the time.  Netscape, for
example, has a MULTICOL element which isn't in the HTML 4.0 specs.  So
what?  If they're that insistent that it be part of some sort of recognized
standardized do-hickey, then they can just wait until XML is widely
implemented.  I think that special elements/attributes for different
interfaces shouldn't be required to put into the specs, and that XML
probably covers this.

[                    Jordan Reiter                     ]
[                 ]