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Keith
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3 years ago
in The 'meaning' of an identifier on Phil Dawes' Stuff
Hi Phil, long time no see.
I've been struggling for a while to find a way to start explaining (even to myself) just what it is about very much of the "semantic web" chat about the place that I find so desperately incoherent. Nothing personal, but this looks as good a place to start as any ;).
Let's take a look into that fine philosophy of language text Alice Through the Looking-glass
I will anyway.
How can the meaning of an identifier by anything other than the entitity it identifies? And how can you, in general, know what that is?
It's suggested here and there that an RFC 2821 style email address might make a good URI for a person. And others have pointed out that this is preposterous. I agree with the second group.
Quickly now, does the URI
By the way, the
RFC 2821 itself even has something to say about this:
I couldn't find any help about whether or not WordPress interprets markup inside comments (and I've a nasty feeling it's not going to let me come back and edit this if not) so apologies in advance if required.
I've been struggling for a while to find a way to start explaining (even to myself) just what it is about very much of the "semantic web" chat about the place that I find so desperately incoherent. Nothing personal, but this looks as good a place to start as any ;).
Let's take a look into that fine philosophy of language text Alice Through the Looking-glass
Do I need to add anything?
[the White Knight said] The name of the song is called "HADDOCKS' EYES."'
`Oh, that's the name of the song, is it?' Alice said, trying to feel interested.
`No, you don't understand,' the Knight said, looking a little vexed. `That's what the name is CALLED. The name really IS "THE AGED AGED MAN."'
`Then I ought to have said "That's what the SONG is called"?' Alice corrected herself.
`No, you oughtn't: that's quite another thing! The SONG is called "WAYS AND MEANS": but that's only what it's CALLED, you know!'
`Well, what IS the song, then?' said Alice, who was by this time completely bewildered.
`I was coming to that,' the Knight said. `The song really IS "A-SITTING ON A GATE": and the tune's my own invention.'
I will anyway.
How can the meaning of an identifier by anything other than the entitity it identifies? And how can you, in general, know what that is?
It's suggested here and there that an RFC 2821 style email address might make a good URI for a person. And others have pointed out that this is preposterous. I agree with the second group.
Quickly now, does the URI
mailto:info@bogotek.co.el identify a person, or not? How do you know? By the way, the
.el TLD is used for hosts in the People's Republic of Elbonia, where "Fo" is a common family name. And BogoTek's IT director has a fetish for short email addresses. And there's a guy in sales called Iolanthe Norbert somthing-or-other.RFC 2821 itself even has something to say about this:
2.3.10 Mailbox and AddressEmphasis mine.
As used in this specification, an "address" is a character string that identifies a user to whom mail will be sent or a location into which mail will be deposited. The term "mailbox" refers to that depository. The two terms are typically used interchangeably unless the distinction between the location in which mail is placed (the mailbox) and a reference to it (the address) is important. An address normally consists of user and domain specifications.
The standard mailbox naming convention is defined to be "local-part@domain": contemporary usage permits a much broader set of applications than simple "user names". Consequently, and due to a long history of problems when intermediate hosts have attempted to optimize transport by modifying them, the local-part MUST be interpreted and assigned semantics only by the host specified in the domain part of the address.
I couldn't find any help about whether or not WordPress interprets markup inside comments (and I've a nasty feeling it's not going to let me come back and edit this if not) so apologies in advance if required.
