When I started off the chain about <q>, I mentioned that the HTML
specification requires user agents to render <q> elements with text. [1]
However - I got a note off the TC list pointing out that XHTML 2 (still a
working draft) has reversed that position. [2]
I've been told there was a lot of debate about this, which does not
surprise me. Does anybody on this list know where we can find a record of
that debate? I'm curious to know what led them to that decision. All I can
find is a description of the behavior. [3]
Unlike most other elements, rendering of the <q> element affects what
content users put in the document. For that reason, my own feeling is that
the spec has to address presentation of <q>, even if it is just to state
that rendering tools are free to choose.
Thanks -
Robert D Anderson
IBM Authoring Tools Development
Chief Architect, DITA Open Toolkit
[1] http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/struct/text.html#edef-Q
[2] http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml2/mod-text.html#sec_9.8.
[3] http://www.w3.org/MarkUp/xhtml2/wiki/ProposedElements/Q
