When Should We Teach Microformats
Gaye Shine
Microformats also tries to make data 'webby', or perhaps that should be the web 'data-y'. The insight here is that there's a lot of data in web pages, between the prose. If you have a few hints a machine can work out that that piece of html above is basically an address. Those hints are microformats. Typically they use conventions around html class names to indicate that the content is more than text.
When answering questions on a list, cite URL(s) to FAQ answers. Despite the previous guidelines, experience has shown us that there will be time that smart, considerate individuals may attempt to look for an answer on the FAQ, and not find it despite it being there. In such cases, assume that it was a simple unintended oversight (rather than laziness or failure to check the FAQ), and when answering such a question on a microformats list:
Historically a few individuals have overloaded some of the microformats mailing lists with a lot of email. As each individual email costs time for everyone on the list, this is quite inconsiderate and should be avoided. Here are a few ways (but certainly not all ways) to avoid wasting others' time with too much email. [src:A]
In general, if you find yourself sending more than one message in a row to *any* of the microformats lists, you are probably doing something wrong. Give others a chance to read/consider/reply to your messages one at a time. If you have a lot to say, you should instead be capturing your thoughts on the appropriate wiki page(s) per above guidelines, and simply referencing relevant URLs in *optional* notification messages to the list. [src:A]
Brian Oberkirch yammers a lot. He used to teach literature. And do radio news. And write newspaper articles. Now he helps people make Web stuff and talks up things like microformats and other open design approaches that should make life better for everyone. He carries on at brianoberkirch.com.
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