Archive of UserLand's first discussion group, started October 5, 1998.

Re: You've never owned the look and feel ...

Author:Jeremy Bowers
Posted:9/28/1999; 6:30:46 PM
Topic:Windows apps on Linux: the real reason
Msg #:11566 (In response to 11528)
Prev/Next:11565 / 11567

The arguments used against Third Voice could be used against browsers that can override font and color formatting on a Web page. Web publishers don't own the manner in which their sites are presented to a user, and I think we would lose something considerable if the courts gave them this ownership now.

No, the arguments used against Third Voice can't be used against browsers that can override font and color formatting.

I've previously come at this from the angle of "do anything you want with my content, but don't add to it", but let me try another.

When you change color, or font, what are you affecting? You are affecting your view of the screen. Not only is what you do with your own personal copy not really an issue anyhow, most webmasters wouldn't get upset even if they could about you changing fonts.

What can I do with Third Voice? I can post a message that will be seen by thousands.

There is nothing you can do with your own browser configuration that will affect my browser configuration. If Third Voice becomes the norm, then I can do something in mine that affects yours.

The difference between the two is distribution... option settings aren't distributed, annotations are. Since the difference is fundamental to the objections to Third Voice, the assertion "The arguments used against Third Voice could be used against browsers that can override font and color formatting on a Web page." is an invalid argument; it depends on the untrue statement that font and color settings are similar to Third Voice's annotations.

(This is not the complete set of differences, of course. Third Voice involves an actual addition of content, whereas changing fonts leaves the original content intact. But it is enough to invalidate the argument.)

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