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Why Browsers Haven't Standardized
Page 7 —
The Answer's Out There
As with any complex situation, there is no easy answer. A formalized
process for the creation of standards might help, although the more rigid
the process, the slower it will become. A system whereby each browser
company pledges to create "W3C private" implementations of developing
standards also has its advantages, but this would negate the benefits of
the widespread field-testing of a standard. In a similar vein, if browser
companies released new technologies with a disclaimer that read "Emerging technology: This
might change, so don't rely on it," designers would be
forewarned and might even contribute more to the development of the
standard. But can you honestly envision a marketing department allowing
such a label to go out with any part of a shipping product?
The recent emergence of the Web
Standards Project shows that there is a real demand for
standards-compliant browsers. So far, the project's ire has been directed at
browser companies, even though they claim to "recognize the necessity of
innovation in a fast-paced market." If that's truly the case, then it might
not be a bad idea for the project to take some time to study the W3C's
standards process as well. Only with changes on both fronts can we
hope to find any compatibility between interoperability and innovation.
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