[html4all] 5 gears in reverse - anne v k enters the alt attribute debate

Fri Sep 21 06:02:32 PDT 2007

Charles McCathieNevile wrote:

[passing over all allegations of /ad hominem/ attacks]

>>> <!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01//EN">
>>> <!-- It’s valid, sure. -->
>> Putting the assertion to the test reveals :
>>
>>> This page is not Valid HTML 4.01 Strict!
>>> Result: 	Failed validation, 4 Errors
> 
> Putting the validator to the test by reading the actual specification[1]  
> it is attempting to validate to, we find that
> 
> [[[
> The FPI for the Transitional HTML 4.01 DTD is:
> 
>          "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN"
> ]]]
> 
> In other words, that validator is making a requirement out of a common  
> habit. Anne is correct, the validator is wrong.

Would you like to clarify what technical point you are making
here, Charles ?  Are you (1) saying the validator is defective
(if it is, we should report the fact to Olivier); and (2) are you
saying that Anne is writing in (a) HTML 4.01 Strict, (b)
HTML 4.01 Transitional, or (c) neither of these ?  From my
analysis of Anne's page (which of course be incorrect), I
infer that he is writing in HTML 4.01 Strict, that the
DOCTYPE is therefore correct, and that the page is invalid.
I would be very happy to hear your comments, and assure
you that, like you, I am not the least interested in /ad hominem/
argument.

** Phil.