Learn, hack!

URL

http://dewy.fem.tu-ilmenau.de/CCC/22C3/audio/mp3/22C3-429-en-w3c_web.mp3

File name

22C3-429-en-w3c_web.mp3

File size

25.4 MB

MD5

442c002bdcbe41da6fcb00e9d8436212

SHA1

8e696fba87384ce41cf4aba8b415fb7afe75134b

W3C brings together experts, companies and users to define the fundamental formats and protocols of the Web. The challenge is to create a coherent system (the "Semantic Web") without forgetting everybody's short-term needs. When W3C started, in 1994, the Web was simple: the IETF had taken on the task of defining URLs; W3C and the IETF worked together on HTML and HTTP; W3C developed CSS; and a group of people donated PNG to W3C. There were plenty of people helping out and although some had trouble understanding W3C's vision of a Web on other devices than PCs, the architecture was simple enough and progress was quick. Now the Web is big, slow and complex. There is an ever increasing demand for new technologies, for security, b2b, multimedia, accessibility, privacy, and what not, and although W3C's vision is still the same, it needs more and more discussion in more and more groups to harmonize all the technologies being proposed. But at least everybody now wants the Web on small devices... Let's take a (brief) look at the methods W3C tries to use to reach consensus (because consensus is the basis of W3C's decision making), at the ways in which people can follow and participate in the work, and at a few of the technologies that are expected.