Proposal for W3C to adopt HTML 5

Dear HTML Working Group,

HTML5, comprising the Web Apps 1.0 and Web Forms 2.0 specifications, is the product of many years of collaborative effort. It specifies existing HTML4 markup and APIs with much clearer conformance criteria for both implementations and documents. It specifies many useful additions, in many cases drawing on features that have existed in browser-based implementations for a long time. And it actively draws on feedback from implementers and content authors. Therefore, we the undersigned propose the following:

- that the W3C HTML Working Group adopts the WHAT Working Group’s HTML5 as the starting point for further HTML development
- that the W3C’s next-generation HTML specification is officially named “HTML 5″
- that Ian Hickson is named as editor for the W3C’s HTML 5 specification, to preserve continuity with the existing WHATWG effort

If HTML5 is adopted as a starting point, the contents of the document would still be up for review and revision, but we would start with the existing text. A suitable next step might be a high-level review of functionality added and removed relative to HTML4.01, followed by focused discussion and review of individual topic areas, including both content already in the spec and proposed new features. Discussions should be guided by common principles along the lines of

If the group is agreeable to these proposals, Apple, Mozilla and Opera will agree to arrange a non-exclusive copyright assignment to the W3 Consortium for HTML5 specifications.

L. David Baron, Mozilla Foundation
Lars Erik Bolstad, Opera Software ASA
Brendan Eich, Mozilla Foundation
Dave Hyatt, Apple Inc.
Håkon Wium Lie, Opera Software ASA
Maciej Stachowiak, Apple Inc.