Re: myths of software "standards"

["Vladimir Z. Nuri" <vznuri@netcom.com>]

SR:
>Sure, the Netscape extensions are nice. And it's nice to have an operating
>system (M$-DOG) pre-installed on every hard drive. But Net$cape, like M$,
>was trying to esablish a dominant "follow-us-or-die" position in the 
>industry. 

that was exactly the view I was trying to discredit us in my post.
did Netscape protect their creations with patents? no. what did they
do that prevents other browsers from immediately latching onto 
their keywords?? we are talking about *bits*!!! oh, do  they have
too much PRIDE or something to use an idea that somebody else
innovated? I think in all this ranting is lost the basic fact
that Netscape did what they did to be *innovative* and this
innovation is what is driving the net. can you indicate to me
why or how they were trying to squelch competition? what kind
of squelching is possible in a world where the next version of
anybody's software can immediately incorporate their own features?

>Yes, the Net$cape extensions allow people to do stuff that they wouldn't 
>otherwise be able to do. But, the extensions *could have* been 
>implemented in such a way that using them wouldn't be detrimental to 
>non-Net$cape browsers.

you seem to be suggesting that they intentionally tried to screw
up non-netscape browsers, which I find laughable.

> Instead, they've altered the World Wide Web in 
>such a way that it can only be viewed "correctly" with Net$cape.

this was by the choice of people who wrote web pages, who made
the collective decision to follow netscape. you are not criticizing
netscape, you see, you are simultaneously criticizing every person
who has made the decision to go with their standard. which is
a rather unenlightened way to look at the way that standards on
the internet work, imho-- they are not "handed down by anyone".
netscape could have been roundly ignored, and a zillion standards
die every year for this reason. but netscape made a positive 
contribution, and this is reflected in the agreement of every
person who voluntarily, under total free will and no coercion,
picked their standard. can you tell me how netscape
twisted a single person's arm to put netscape tags in their
web pages?