When I started off the chain about , I mentioned that the HTML
specification requires user agents to render elements with text. [1]
However - I got a note off the TC list pointing out that XHTML 2 (still a
working draft) has reversed that position. [2]
I've been told there was a lot of debate about this, which does not
surprise me. Does anybody on this list know where we can find a record of
that debate? I'm curious to know what led them to that decision. All I can
find is a description of the behavior. [3]
Unlike most other elements, rendering of the element affects what
content users put in the document. For that reason, my own feeling is that
the spec has to address presentation of , even if it is just to state
that rendering tools are free to choose.
Thanks -
Robert D Anderson
IBM Authoring Tools Development
Chief Architect, DITA Open Toolkit
[1] http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/struct/text.html#edef-Q
[2] http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml2/mod-text.html#sec_9.8.
[3] http://www.w3.org/MarkUp/xhtml2/wiki/ProposedElements/Q