[whatwg] Using <em> for Meta-Content
Ian Hickson
ian at hixie.ch
Mon Jul 13 04:22:15 PDT 2009
On Thu, 18 Jun 2009, Smylers wrote:
>
> HTML 5 currently defines <em> as being for "stress emphasis of its
> contents", noting that:
>
> The placement of emphasis changes the meaning of the sentence. The
> element thus forms an integral part of the content.
>
> -- http://www.whatwg.org/html5#the-em-element
>
> I'm not sure this definition is wide enough to encompass the use that
> HTML 5 itself puts <em> to, using it for the "This section is
> non-normative" bits at the start of sections, such as:
>
> http://www.whatwg.org/html5#introduction
That shouldn't be <em>. I've changed those to <i> in the spec.
> This meta-content use seems similar to an article by a guest author
> being prefaced by an italicized paragraph from a regular author
> introducing the guest. Or editoral comments inserted into somebody
> else's work, which are often in square brackets and italics as well as
> having "- Ed" at the end. Mainly it's just indicating some kind of
> separation from the main text.
Yup. <i> is appropriate for those -- it's a different voice.
On Fri, 19 Jun 2009, Nils Dagsson Moskopp wrote:
> >
> > I suggest that either the definition of <em> is broadened to include
> > this sense, or these normativity designators are instead marked up
> > with something like <i class=normativity> or <i class=other>.
>
> I suggest broadening the <small> element, mainly because it is already
> spec'd to contain some kind of meta-information (legal text).
<small> is more for side comments than a different voice.
> Editorial comments can be marked up using the <ins> element, as I
> understand it.
<ins> would be for the actual change, rather than a note about the change.
Cheers,
--
Ian Hickson U+1047E )\._.,--....,'``. fL
http://ln.hixie.ch/ U+263A /, _.. \ _\ ;`._ ,.
Things that are impossible just take longer. `._.-(,_..'--(,_..'`-.;.'
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