This document lists all the tags and attributes that I'm proposing should be in GuideML 1.0, following on from the RFC on the Proposed Standard for GuideML 1.0. It isn't a signed and sealed document - instead, I need your input to turn this list into a finished specification for GuideML 1.0, so make sure you take this chance to influence the development of the markup language of the Hitchhiker's Guide.

Please post any comments or questions on this specification to the Forum below.

When the parser is rewritten to implement GuideML 1.0, only the tags and attriutes listed in this spcification will have any effect - all other tags and attributes will be completely ignored. Therefore, if you think there's a tag or attribute that isn't included here which should be, tell me in the Forum below. To help with this, I've put together a list of tags not included in GuideML 1.0, so it's worth taking a look through that list along with this one, to see if there's anything there that you think should be in GuideML.

Red Tags

In the tag list below, tags and attributes not in red are already a part of the current GuideML specification, as listed in the GuideML Clinic. Remember, though, that currently the parser lets any well-formed tags through (apart from those that have been disabled), so the non-red tags and attributes do not define current GuideML, only those which we've approved for use.

Those in red form additions to the current tag list, and although they may currently work, they haven't been ratified as a part of GuideML. That's what this document is all about!

Backwards Compatibility

I've tried to include as many tags that are currently used as I can. Following the RFC, the idea of a colour palette from the RFC has been booted out, and I've included some tags (like <MARQUEE> that shouldn't strictly be in a language like GuideML, but which give pleasure to lots of people. But no, you can't have <BLINK>...

We're also happy to continue to support some tags, like IMG, that are currently used in existing content, though again these shouldn't really be in a language like GuideML. However, as a part of specifying GuideML 1.0, we'd like to mark tags like these as 'deprecated', simply to discourage their use in new content, and I'd very much like to hear people's opinions of which tags should be marked as 'deprecated' in this way (<SECTION> is the only one currently in that list, and it's omitted from here). For example, given <STRONG>, should we deprecate <B>? This wouldn't stop <B> from working, but we may be able to prevent people from entering deprecated tags in new content, while still supporting their use in old content. Your feedback would be most welcome.

Other DNA Sites

Currently there are some tags available on other DNA sites apart from h2g2 that I haven't yet listed here. I hope to do that soon, but as they have no effect on h2g2 anyway, their omission isn't critical to this discussion.

I created this specification by going through the W3C specification for XHTML 1.0, the friendly WDG HTML 4.0 Tag List, the even friendlier HTML 4.0 Tag List, and O'Reilly's HTML book. If you have no idea what a proposed tag or attribute does, then check out these sites for more information (especially the last one, which includes all sorts of tags you're guaranteed never to have heard of).

In some cases I've changed an attribute name to make it a bit more obvious what it means, or to bring it in line with other tags. If anything in this list doesn't tally with the XHTML specification and you can't work out what on earth the tag or attribute means, please post below.

Common Attributes

All tags can take the following attributes (though that doesn't guarantee that they'll have any effect):

• ID
• STYLE
• TITLE

Please also note that the H2G2 attribute is synonymous with DNAID, though currently h2g2 itself does not support the DNAID attribute.

Document Structure

Block-level Elements

Blockquote Elements

Phrase Elements

In-line Elements

Font Style Elements

Forms

Lists

Tables

Boxes

Special Tags

GuideML Gadgets