The real problem here AIUI - at least in the context of HTML 5's
inferred rel="feed" bit - is not just entry documents, it's any Atom
document which wouldn't normally be considered a "feed" by a typical
user; something that most people would be interested in subscribing
to. An example I gave on the whatwg list was an MHTML-like (MIME
multipart) package, but there are many other possible examples of
course; not all RFC 4287 feed documents are "feeds" in this sense.
If HTML 5 (and current practice) doesn't change, but we defer to them
for the specification of autodiscovery, then a new media type would be
one way forward. But it should be reusable for all non-"feed" (i.e.
from a user POV, as above) Atom documents, not just entry documents;
perhaps application/atom-no-feed+xml. It's an ugly hack, but it's
better than the alternative of many more specific Atom-related media
types, which atomentry+xml might set a precedent for.
Another way forward, because the rel="feed" inference is triggered not
just by the media type but by the "alternate" relationship keyword, is
to create a non-feed alternate relationship ("alternate-non-feed"?
ick).
I prefer the new relationship to a new media type because it's less
disruptive; it doesn't require futzing around with existing specs and
implementations.
Mark.
