HyperText Markup Language
charter-ietf-html-01

Note on Mailing Lists

General discussion about HTML is normally carried out on the
`www-html'
list, which should be used for anything which is not the work of this
group.

Address: www-html@w3.org

To subscribe: www-html-request@w3.org

Archive:
http://gummo.stanford.edu/html/hypermail/www-html-1994q2.index.html

Description

The HTML Working Group is chartered firstly to describe, and secondly
to
develop, the HyperText Markup Language (HTML). The group's work is to
be
based on existing practice on the Internet, and will make due
reference
to the SGML standard.

The group will build upon a working specification originally written
by
Tim Berners-Lee, much work done by Dan Connolly in editing and
testing,
the recent editing of Karen Muldrow, and the HTMLPlus specification
edited by Dave Raggett. The working group takes over the work of the
informal HTML Implementors Group which met at the WWW94 conference in
Geneva, the HTML workshop at that conference, and an informal meeting
and
an IETF BOF in Toronto in July 94.

The HTML standard will provide a format for hypertext files of wide
applicability, and particularly as a mandatory common format for all
WorldWide Web applications.

The standard will specify the relationships between HTML and other
standards and practices such as URIs, HTTP, MIME and SGML.

Focus

The working group will have a strong focus to:

o Describe existing features before developing new features

o Base specification on existing practice

o Express the relationship of HTML to URIs, MIME, SGML, HyTime and
  HTTP

o Define conformance levels

o Define transition possibilities and compatibilities between
  versions and levels

The working group will work in two stages.

Descriptive specification

The first priority will be to complete the specfication of existing
practice on the Internet, defining it in terms which make

development
of new features as straightforward as possible. This specification
will cover HTML up to that which has been called level 2 (i.e.,
including basic features, highlighting, images and forms). During
this
period discussion of new features should not be carried out on the
working group mailing list.

Development

Once the descriptive specification is submitted to the standards
process, the group will work on development of HTML, taking on the

work
known as HTMLPlus. This work will include formats for tables,
figures
and mathematical formulae.

In the absence of other proposals, the working group will terminate
having produced its milestones and the RFCs having achieved

standards
status.