Buzz Archives: WaSP Asks the W3C
What’s happening with WCAG 2.0?
Following a conversation with Judy Brewer from the W3C back in February, Jared Smith had the chance to interview her and submit some probing questions about what's happening with WCAG 2.0. Thanks Judy...and nice one Jared! See the interview with Judy Brewer on WCAG 2.0 in our WaSP Asks the ...
By Patrick Lauke | May 5th, 2007
- What’s that object, again?
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A while ago, we asked the W3C: how do we go about including multimedia objects in Web documents in a backwards-compatible way? In the first of a two-part issue, the W3C gave us a little history lesson about the birth of multimedia inclusion in HTML documents. Now, in this long-awaited ...
By Steph Troeth | May 24th, 2005
- What’s that object?
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The object element has long been a subject of mystery and frustration. How do we use it? How well is it supported? As part of the WaSP asks the W3C project, we consult the W3C about the correct way to include multimedia elements such as sound, animation and video into our ...
By Steph Troeth | July 1st, 2004
- What is CC/PP and Why Should I Care?
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CC/PP is not a new idea - it's been in development at the W3C for some time now. Yet, many web designers and developers are unaware of what it is, much less how it integrates with XML, XHTML and XSLT in an effort to improve device independence. The W3C ...
By Molly E. Holzschlag | February 16th, 2004
- Benefits of XHTML Modularization
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Just what is this magic word beginning with 'M' that spans six syllables? What does it mean, and what implications does it have for us? In this issue of “WaSP asks the W3C”, we learn some of the benefits of XHTML Modularization.
By Steph Troeth | December 17th, 2003
- HTML or XHTML?
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Why is it that the question you think is stupid is usually the one that everyone else is dying to ask? So which one is better: HTML or XHTML? Seems simple in the midst of this flurry of acronyms such as XAML and XUL. The W3C wants to help you ...
By Molly E. Holzschlag | October 28th, 2003
- Serving up the Right MIME Type
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Q: Which MIME type should XHTML be served with? A: The short answer is application/xhtml+xml, of course. But this MIME type isn't recognized by a number of user agents, Internet Explorer included. So, what to do? In our long-awaited return to the WaSP Asks the W3C series, we ask ...
By Molly E. Holzschlag | September 4th, 2003
- WaSP Asks the W3C
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In an effort to assist developers and designers in understanding detailed issues when working with web standards, WaSP and the W3C kick off a new project today. The project, "WaSP Asks the W3C" involves WaSP Steering Committee members culling questions from supporters and asking members of the W3C's Quality Assurance ...
By Molly E. Holzschlag | December 9th, 2002
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)
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