[whatwg] Deprecating <small>, <b> ?

[David Muschiol]

On Fri, Nov 14, 2008 at 06:09, Nils Dagsson Moskopp
<nils-dagsson-moskopp at dieweltistgarnichtso.net> wrote:
>>The small element represents small print [...]
>
>>The b element represents a span of text to be stylistically offset from
> the normal prose without conveying any extra importance [...]
>
> Both definitions seems rather presentational (contrasting, for example,
> the new semantic definition for the <i> element) and could also be
> realized by use of <span> elements.

Why use <span class="smallprint">Copyright (c) 2008 …</span> instead
of just <small>Copyright (c) 2008 …</small>?  The latter possibility
is way more semantic.

And why use <span class="brand">Siemens</span> instead of just <b>Siemens</b>?

To me, the small and b elements – especially the former – make perfect sense.

-david