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weaving the web

with concerns over the potential fragmentation of HTML. This was seen as a huge threat to the entire community. There were so many proposed extensions for HTML that a standard really was needed. We wrestled over terms—whether the consortium should actually set a "standard" or stop just short of that by issuing a formal "recommendation." We chose the latter to indicate that getting "rough consensus and running code"—the Internet maxim for agreeing on a workable program and getting it out there to be tried—was the level at which we would work. We also had to move fast, and didn't want to be dragged down by the sort of long international voting process that typified the setting of an actual standard. It was becoming clear to me that running the consortium would always be a balancing act, between taking the time to stay as open as possible and advancing at the speed demanded by the onrush of the technology.

We also decided that if we were going to develop open, common protocols and stay ahead of applications, we would have to support an ongoing effort, primarily by the staff, to create a set of Web tools we could use ourselves to demonstrate new ideas and experiment with proposed specifications. Initially, that meant adopting a browser and server that were a bit ahead of their time. We agreed to use Dave Raggett's Arena browser and the CERN server as our test beds. Certainly, we would make these and any other tools freely available for use by anyone. All people had to do was access the public part of the W3C Web site and download a program.

Indeed, the true art for the consortium would be in finding the minimum agreements, or protocols, everybody would need in order to make the Web work across the Internet. This process did not put the consortium in a position of control; it was just providing a place for people to come and reach consensus. In these early days, before we developed more formal processes, if a member didn't want to be part of a given initiative, the member's representative wouldn't come to that meeting. And if people couldn't agree after serious effort, we'd eventually drop the topic.