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Re: Re: Are the publishing users happy? Why not?

• To: <xml-dev@l...>
• Subject: Re: Re: Are the publishing users happy? Why not?
• From: Gavin Thomas Nicol <gtn@r...>
• Date: Tue, 18 Feb 2003 17:12:51 -0500
• In-reply-to: <5.2.0.9.0.20030218164225.066f0cd8@n...>
• Organization: Red Bridge Interactive, Inc.
• References: <15725CF6AFE2F34DB8A5B4770B7334EEEACF3B@h...> <200302181620.31109.gtn@r...> <5.2.0.9.0.20030218164225.066f0cd8@n...>
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On Tuesday 18 February 2003 04:44 pm, Jonathan Robie wrote:
> People associate the layout with the meaning. If people don't want tags to
> show, I think that a user interface would have to ensure that the only way
> a user could get things to display properly would be to create the right
> XML structures. In other words, allow "styles", which are a visual analog
> to the XML elements being used, but don't allow direct use of fonts.

You can do that in Word already with macros. I've done it for a couple of 
customers, and in both cases, the users almost revolted. As it was, people 
would use a "Heading 1" when they wanted REALLY BIG letters (sound 
familiar?).

Here's the point: people need to be educated as well as coerced through 
software, and even then, there *will* be exceptions.

If you think data accuracy is important enough, you *can* build controls into 
the systems, but there are both real and intangible costs in doing so. Then 
you also have to be prepared for the data formats to evolve... and the costs 
that entails.

• References:
  • RE: Re: Are the publishing users happy? Why not?
    • From: "Bullard, Claude L (Len)" <clbullar@i...>
  • Re: Re: Are the publishing users happy? Why not?
    • From: Gavin Thomas Nicol <gtn@r...>
  • Re: Re: Are the publishing users happy? Why not?
    • From: Jonathan Robie <jonathan.robie@d...>

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