Bugzilla – Bug 121
Respond to feedback on <cite> and cite='' -- titles of works, citations, and examples thereon
Last modified: 2008-03-03 18:39:45 CET
Index: source =================================================================== --- source (revision 1233) +++ source (revision 1234) @@ -6782,12 +6782,13 @@ users to follow such citation links.</p> <p>If a <code>blockquote</code> element is <span>preceded or - followed</span> by a <span>paragraph</span> that contains a single - <code>cite</code> element and is itself not <span>preceded or - followed</span> by another <code>blockquote</code> element and does - not itself have a <code>q</code> element descendant, then, the - citation given by that <code>cite</code> element gives the source of - the quotation contained in the <code>blockquote</code> element.</p> + followed</span> by a single <span>paragraph</span> that contains a + single <code>cite</code> element and that is itself not + <span>preceded or followed</span> by another <code>blockquote</code> + element and does not itself have a <code>q</code> element + descendant, then, the title of the work given by that + <code>cite</code> element gives the source of the quotation + contained in the <code>blockquote</code> element.</p> <p>The <dfn title="dom-quote-cite"><code>cite</code></dfn> DOM attribute <code>reflects</code> the element's <code @@ -7713,7 +7714,7 @@ <code>q</code>, or <code>blockquote</code> elements in this markup. Indeed, a <code>q</code> element inside a <code>dd</code> element in a conversation would actually imply the people talking - were themselves quoting someone else. See the <code>cite</code>, + were themselves quoting another work. See the <code>cite</code>, <code>q</code>, and <code>blockquote</code> elements for other ways to cite or quote.</p> @@ -8286,8 +8287,9 @@ <p>If a <code>q</code> element is contained (directly or indirectly) in a <span>paragraph</span> that contains a single <code>cite</code> element and has no other <code>q</code> element descendants, then, - the citation given by that <code>cite</code> element gives the - source of the quotation contained in the <code>q</code> element.</p> + the title of the work given by that <code>cite</code> element gives + the source of the quotation contained in the <code>q</code> + element.</p> <!-- XXX need examples --> @@ -8308,33 +8310,108 @@ <!-- XXX should the cite element have a cite attribute? --> </dl> - <p>The <code>cite</code> element represents a citation: the source, - or reference, for a quote or statement made in the document.</p> + <p>The <code>cite</code> element represents the title of a work + (e.g. + a book, + a paper, + an essay, + a poem, + a score, + a song, + a script, + a film, + a TV show, + a game, + a sculpture, + a painting, + a theatre production, + a play, + an opera, + a musical, + an exhibition, + etc). This can be a work that is being quoted or + referenced in detail (i.e. a citation), or it can just be a work + that is mentioned in passing.</p> + + <p>A person's name is not the title of a work — even if people + call that person a piece of work — and the element must + therefore not be used to mark up people's names. (In some cases, the + <code>b</code> element might be appropriate for names; e.g. in a + gossip article where the names of famous people are keywords + rendered with a different style to draw attention to them. In other + cases, if an element is <em>really</em> needed, the + <code>span</code> element can be used.)</p> + + <p>A ship is similarly not a work, and the element must not be used + to mark up ship names (the <code>i</code> element can be used for + that purpose).</p> + + <div class="example"> + + <p>This next example shows a typical use of the <code>cite</code> + element:</p> + + <pre><p>My favourite book is <cite>The Reality Dysfunction</cite> by +Peter F. Hamilton. My favourite comic is <cite>Pearls Before +Swine</cite> by Stephan Pastis. My favourite track is <cite>Jive +Samba</cite> by the Cannonball Adderley Sextet.</p></pre> + + </div> + + <div class="example"> + + <p>This is correct usage:</p> + + <pre><p>According to the Wikipedia article <cite>HTML</cite>, as it +stood in mid-February 2008, leaving attribute values unquoted is +unsafe. This is obviously an over-simplification.</p></pre> + + <p>The following, however, is incorrect usage, as the + <code>cite</code> element here is containing far more than the + title of the work:</p> + + <pre><p>According to <cite>the Wikipedia article on HTML</cite>, as it +stood in mid-February 2008, leaving attribute values unquoted is +unsafe. This is obviously an over-simplification.</p></pre> + + </div> + + <div class="example"> + + <p>The <code>cite</code> element is obviously a key part of any + citation in a bibliography, but it is only used to mark the + title:</p> + + <pre><p><cite>Universal Declaration of Human Rights</cite>, United Nations, +December 1948. Adopted by General Assembly resolution 217 A (III).</p></pre> + + </div> <p class="note">A <em>citation</em> is not a <em>quote</em> (for which the <code>q</code> element is appropriate).</p> <div class="example"> - <p>This is incorrect usage:</p> + <p>This is incorrect usage, because <code>cite</code> is not for + quotes:</p> <pre><p><cite>This is wrong!</cite>, said Ian.</p></pre> - <p>This is the correct way to do it:</p> + <p>This is also incorrect usage, because a person is not a + work:</p> - <pre><p><q>This is correct!</q>, said <cite>Ian</cite>.</p></pre> + <pre><p><q>This is still wrong!</q>, said <cite>Ian</cite>.</p></pre> - <p>This is also wrong, because the title and the name are not - references or citations:</p> + <p>The correct usage does not use a <code>cite</code> element:</p> - <pre><p>My favourite book is <cite>The Reality Dysfunction</cite> -by <cite>Peter F. Hamilton</cite>.</p></pre> + <pre><p><q>This is correct</q>, said Ian.</p></pre> - <p>This is correct, because even though the source is not quoted, it is cited:</p> + <p>As mentioned above, the <code>b</code> element might be relevant + for marking names as being keywords in certain kinds of + documents:</p> - <pre><p>According to <cite>the Wikipedia article on -HTML</cite>, HTML is defined in formal specifications that were -developed and published throughout the 1990s.</p></pre> + <pre><p>And then <b>Ian</b> said <q>this might be right, in a +gossip column, maybe!</q>.</p></pre> </div> @@ -8342,6 +8419,19 @@ <code>blockquote</code> and <code>q</code> elements in certain cases described in the definitions of those elements.</p> + <div class="example"> + + <p>This next example shows the use of <code>cite</code> alongside + <code>blockquote</code>:</p> + + <pre><p>His next piece was the aptly named <cite>Sonnet 130</cite>:</p> +<blockquote> + <p>My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun,<br> + Coral is far more red, than her lips red, + ...</pre> + + </div> + <h4>The <dfn><code>em</code></dfn> element</h4> @@ -8746,6 +8836,23 @@ </div> +<!-- +> One useful line of retreat would be to specify that in the following +> code, "the state of being happy" is unambiguously a definition of +> "happiness" and not of any other subset of the <dt>. +> +> <dl> +> <dt><dfn>happiness</dfn> /'hæ p. nes/ <i><abbr>n.</abbr></i></dt> +> <dd>the state of being happy</dd> +> </dl> +> +> This could be encouraged by "dt dfn {font-weight: bold; font-style: +> normal;}" in browsers' default style sheets, which would be quite +> backward-compatible because of the rarity of <dt><dfn> up to now. +- mpt +--> + + <h4>The <dfn><code>abbr</code></dfn> element</h4> @@ -41485,6 +41592,7 @@ link: click mark: skip to next mark element title attribute: tooltip + cite attribute on q, blockquote, ins, del: on hover, show link ... Define how to determine what element is under the cursor, unless
*** This bug has been marked as a duplicate of bug 83 ***