SGML was intended to overcome proprietary file formats for documents, marking text semantically, leaving it to the user to decide how to display it. HTML was originally an instance of SGML.
From the beginning, people were trying to thwart the design of HTML to force people to see pages specific ways. The early books on web design were mostly about how designers could abuse the standard with "tricks" to control the experience of users.
I had a job in a bookstore in the 90s and remember getting into an argument with two customers. One wanted to get in to web design, so I recommended some O'Reilly textbook that starts with explaining the underlying principles of HTML. An older guy got angry at me pushing pedantic nonsense, and recommended some glossy book on creating websites for advertising, how to create entrance and exit tunnels, do everything with image maps instead of text, etc.
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in reply to silverwizard • • •It's the whole history of the web.
SGML was intended to overcome proprietary file formats for documents, marking text semantically, leaving it to the user to decide how to display it. HTML was originally an instance of SGML.
From the beginning, people were trying to thwart the design of HTML to force people to see pages specific ways. The early books on web design were mostly about how designers could abuse the standard with "tricks" to control the experience of users.
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