>If this is "wrong", I think you need to distinguish whether
>you mean "it does not conform to standard XYZ", or "it is
>usually bad engineering practice", or "it is against
>European Law", or "it is contrary to ethical norms".
>
>In the case of XML Public Identifiers, I'm not sure the
>practice is intrinsically "wrong" on any of these counts; it
>is only wrong if it hurts someone.
I contend it's certainly contrary to ethical norms. It's probably
actionable in US civil courts if harm can be demonstrated, and I can
certainly imagine that as these issues become more widely understood, that
national or international law might be brought to bear.
The most the standards can do is provide a framework and set of conventions
that solve the technical aspecs of the problem. It is up to society to
define and enforce the ethical aspects of the problem.
Cheers,
E.
-- <Address HyTime=bibloc> W. Eliot Kimber, Senior Consulting SGML Engineer ISOGEN International Corp. 2200 N. Lamar St., Suite 230, Dallas, TX 75202. 214.953.0004 www.isogen.com </Address>