Buzz Archives for November 2004
Netscape FirIE?
According to Slashdot, AOL has started beta testing their new Firefox-based version of Netscape, and it contains a little surprise: the new browser allows you to choose between Gecko and Trident, the rendering engines used in Firefox and IE, respectively. As usual, I'm ambivalent. The geek in me says 'cool'. The ...
By Chris Kaminski | Filed in Browsers
- Web Breakage
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A quick clarification on Molly's otherwise excellent post on Microsoft's fear of updating IE: Mr. Schare doesn't preclude improvements to IE's standards support altogether. Indeed, neither Molly nor Tristan say otherwise — though my slow brain did get that impression at first. The truth is, Mr. Schare says quite the ...
By Chris Kaminski | Filed in Browsers
- breaking the web
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Is Microsoft breaking the web by not updating the IE browser or planning better standards support in any yet-to-appear OS-based browser? In his article How Microsoft can support CSS2 without breaking the Web Tristan Nitot, who was with the Netscape Evangelism team before its demise, points to an interview in which ...
By Molly E. Holzschlag | Filed in Browsers
- QuirksMode Bug Reports
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This is very useful: QuirksMode Bug Reports, "entirely dedicated to finding, mending, and publishing CSS and JavaScript browser bugs." You can search by browser or by keyword, or just go to that page to see the last seven reported bugs.
By Dori Smith | Filed in General
- Browsers, Browsers Everywhere
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C|net has a full plate of browser news today, including confirmation of a new Firefox-based release of Netscape and the obligatory litany of IE security flaws (The Register has more). They've also got a speculative bit on the possibility that Microsoft may update IE via IE's add-on mechanism, and a ...
By Chris Kaminski | Filed in Browsers
- It’s baaa-aack! (again)
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BetaNews reports that AOL has re-started browser development and will be releasing a new version of Netscape based on Firefox. Users interested in participating in the beta program for he new Netscape can go here and, after entering your AOL/Netscape screen name (or getting one) sign on with registration code prototype1104.
By Chris Kaminski | Filed in Browsers
- beautiful browser
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Beautiful browser, wake unto me, Standards based web sites are waiting for thee; I struggle with rude browsers throughout the day, But lulled by your strength the others will pass away! Beautiful browser, Fox of my song, List while I woo thee with my code and my word; Gone shall be the woes of the IE-only ...
By Molly E. Holzschlag | Filed in Browsers
- What can we talk about now?
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In his post What can we talk about now?, Andy Clarke notes how far we've come and ponders how much further we can go with web standards. So is this it? Have we pushed the current crop of browsers as far as they can go? Is Internet Explorer going to hold ...
By Drew McLellan | Filed in Web Standards (general)
- oh that elitist smell
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A great many discussions have taken place regarding the sense of elitism in the creation, implementation, and study of web standards. Here's what I've been thinking about that elitist smell that surrounds us, where it comes from, and how we can freshen the air. W3C The W3C often comes across as an ...
By Molly E. Holzschlag | Filed in Web Standards (general)
The Web Standards Project is a grassroots coalition fighting for standards which ensure simple, affordable access to web technologies for all.
Recent Buzz
Our Work Here is Done
By Aaron Gustafson | March 1st, 2013
Thanks to the hard work of countless WaSP members and supporters (like you), Tim Berners-Lee’s vision of the web as an open, accessible, and universal community is largely the reality.
When The Web Standards Project (WaSP) formed in 1998, the web was the battleground in an ever-escalating war between two browser makers—Netscape and Microsoft—who were each taking turns “advancing” HTML to the point of collapse. You see, in an effort to one-up each other, the two browsers introduced new elements and new ways of manipulating web documents; this escalated to the point where their respective 4.0 versions were largely incompatible.
Realizing that this fragmentation would inevitably drive up the cost of building websites and ran the risk of denying users access to content and services they needed, Glenn Davis, George Olsen, and Jeffrey Zeldman co-founded WaSP and rallied an amazing group of web designers and developers to help them push back. The WaSP’s primary goal was getting browser makers to support the standards set forth by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C).
In 2001, with the browser wars largely over, WaSP began to shift its focus. While some members continued to work with browser vendors on improving their standards support, others began working closely with software makers like Macromedia to improve the quality of code being authored in tools such as Dreamweaver. And others began the hard slog of educating web designers and developers about the importance of using web standards, culminating in the creation of WaSP InterAct, a web curriculum framework which is now overseen by the W3C.
Thanks to the hard work of countless WaSP members and supporters (like you), Tim Berners-Lee’s vision of the web as an open, accessible, and universal community is largely the reality. While there is still work to be done, the sting of the WaSP is no longer necessary. And so it is time for us to close down The Web Standards Project.
Many (if not all) of us are continuing to work in the world of web standards, but our work is now largely outside the umbrella of WaSP. If you are interested in continuing to work on web standards-related projects along with us, we humbly suggest you follow these projects:
- A List Apart – The magazine “for people who make websites” is run by WaSP founder Jeffrey Zeldman and is a consistent source of forward-thinking articles and tutorials.
- HTML5 Doctor – A solid resource and discussion forum on all things HTML5, brought to you by Bruce Lawson and his team.
- W3C Community Groups – If you have a passion for a specific web technology, you can help make it better by participating in one (or more) community groups. In particular, you might be interested in one of these: Core Mobile Web Platform, Responsive Images, Web Education, and Web Media Text Tracks.
- WebPlatform.org – A fantastic web standards resource, providing up-to-date documentation, Q&As, tutorials & more. Chris Mills, Doug Schepers, and a number of other standards advocates are involved in this project.
- Web Standards Sherpa – An educational resource founded by WaSP which continues to operate under the leadership of Chris Casciano, Virginia DeBolt, Aaron Gustafson, and Emily Lewis.
- Web Standards + Small Business – An outreach project started by WaSP that educates small businesses about why they should care about web standards. This project is overseen by Aaron Gustafson.
The job’s not over, but instead of being the work of a small activist group, it’s a job for tens of thousands of developers who care about ensuring that the web remains a free, open, interoperable, and accessible competitor to native apps and closed eco-systems. It’s your job now, and we look forward to working with you, and wish you much success.
Nota bene: In the near future, we will be making a permanent, static archive of webstandards.org and some of our other resources like WaSP Interact to preserve them as a resource and to provide a record of our 15-year mission to improve the web.
Bruce Lawson and Steph Troeth contributed to this post.
Filed in WaSP Announcement | Comments (89)
More Buzz articles
| Title | Author |
|---|---|
| Call for action on Vendor Prefixes | Rachel Andrew |
| An End to Aging IE Installs | Aaron Gustafson |
| Beyond the Blue Beanie? | Stephanie (Sullivan) Rewis |
| The Sherpas are Here | Aaron Gustafson |