CSS Secrets

1 Introduction

Web standards: friend or foe?

The standards process

Contrary to popular belief, the W3C (World Wide Web Consortium) does not “make” standards. Instead, it acts as a forum for interested parties to get together and do so, in its W3C Working Groups. Of course, the W3C is not a mere observer: it sets the ground rules and it oversees the process. But it’s not (primarily) W3C staff that actually write the specifications.

FIGURE 1.1 “Standards are like sausages: it’s better not to see them being made”—Anonymous W3C WG member

CSS specifications, in particular, are written by the members of the CSS Working Group, often abbreviated as CSS WG. At the time of writing, the CSS WG includes 98 members, and its composition is as follows:

• 86 members from W3C member companies (88%)

• 7 Invited Experts, including yours truly (7%)

• 5 W3C staff members (5%)

As you might notice, the vast majority of WG members (88%) come from W3C member companies. These are companies—such as browser vendors, popular websites, research institutes, general technology companies, etc.—that have a vested interest in seeing web standards flourish. Their yearly membership dues represent the majority of the W3C’s funding, enabling the Consortium to distribute its specifications freely and openly, unlike other standards bodies that have to charge for them.

Invited Experts are web developers who have been asked ...