Re: [Tools-discuss] Why post text and not XML?

[John C Klensin <[e-mail]>]

--On Sunday, March 17, 2024 13:09 +0100 Julian Reschke
<julian.reschke=[e-mail]> wrote:

> Am 16.03.2024 um 21:50 schrieb Eric Rescorla:
>> ...
>> I don't much care about the comments, but I would observe
>> that a consequence of having the XML kept private like this
>> is to make it more difficult for others to work on the
>> documents, either by submitting diffs to the text or by
>> forking them and making their own documents.

Again focusing on IETF Stream standards track documents, "fork
and make their own" is an excellent way to create confusion in a
WG (or other discussion) about which document is being discussed
and how it is different from the other(s).
 
> ...or understanding why something changed between revisions.

Something better accomplished, IMO, by an explicit change log
that identifies and, as needed, explains substantive changes.
We've never required those on an IETF-wide basis (although ADs
occasionally have done so with "their" WGs), but it has become
the custom in many WGs.  By contrast, suppose an author makes a
change in the XML, does not provide a change log, and either
does not include a comment about the nature of the change or
suppresses those comments before posting.  In what way would
access to the XML provide more information about changes,
especially why they occurred, than, e.g., a diff on the text
form.

best,
   john