regrets, and opposition to including item 12051 as an easy 1.2 fix

[Dana Spradley <dana.spradley@oracle.com>]

I'm not going to be able to make the next meeting - so in case the "simple/quick fix" list gets compiled at it, I'd like to register my opposition to including item 12051, "Add class attribute to dita element."

I think this qualifies as a controversial proposal - I believe both myself and JoAnn are on record opposing it.

Instead of regularizing the dita element and allowing it to be specialized, I'd be more in favor of deprecating it, and eventually eliminating it.

According to the 1.1 spec, "The <dita> element has no particular output implications; it simply allows you to create multiple topics of different types at the same level in a single document."

As such, it needs no class attribute - since the sole function of that attribute is to preserve output implications across specializations.

To add a class attribute to the dita element and make it available for specialization is a major architectural change that requires careful thought, not a simple easy fix.

--Dana