why doesn't DB have an element for context breaks?

I am posting this here because -- well, I don't subscribe to other db mailing lists.

I publish a lot of literary titles as epubs using docbook. One thing I encounter frequently (10+ times a publication usually) are narrative breaks in the middle of a chapter. Sometimes it's extra space to denote the passage of time or maybe a change in point of view. Sometimes it means adding decorative things (asterisks etc) in this space. I personally don't use these things a lot when writing content, but a lot of prose authors do.

I asked how to do this in docbook xsl and got this very helpful answer a few years ago about how to make a template that will add custom hr https://lists.oasis-open.org/archives/docbook-apps/200910/msg00021.html

But I see that html5 has been defining the HR tag more semantically; it's not just a straight line anymore!

https://www.w3.org/TR/html5/grouping-content.html#the-hr-element

Is there a technical reason why such an element does not exist in docbook? Or is it just something nobody ever got around to doing. Or nobody has been screaming loud enough?

Thanks.

Robert Nagle

Robert Nagle
22118 FINCASTLE DR KATY TX 77450-1727
(Cell) 832-251-7522; (Skype) idiotprogrammer; Carbon Neutral Since Jan 2010

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