On May 22, 2005, at 7:04 PM, Robert Sayre wrote:
"If multiple atom:entry elements with the same atom:id value
appear in
an Atom Feed document, they describe the same entry and Atom
Processors
MUST treat them as such."
It is a long standing and valued tradition in the IETF that
Standards Track RFC's MUST NOT impose constraints on applications
unless
such constraints relate to issues of interoperability. Thus,
while it is
entirely appropriate for the specification to state that "multiple
atom:entry elements with the same atom:id ... describe the same
entry" it is
NOT appropriate to state how Atom Processors must treat such
elements. The
text should read simply:
"If multiple atom:entry elements with the same atom:id value
appear in
an Atom Feed document, they describe the same entry."
+1. I can live with Tim's original wording because the phrase that
Bob removes is impossible to measure or enforce, but Bob's wording is
cleaner for the same result.
+1. Bob wording is better.
I agree. The MUST clause was inserted in response to concerns raised
by Graham, but it seems clear that it lacks consensus support. -Tim
