on the blog: What will a Chromium-only Web look like?
Is there not broad agreement now? At least publicly all browser vendors now support the idea of the web being both a platform for applications in addition to distributing content.
You know that nobody talking to you is a lawyer, and so we`re not competent to opine on competition law. If we`re writing something, it must be using another lens.
Many many of our chats podcasts on the Web Ecosystem Health series and several posts on my blog dig into similar aspects. Some of them might be interesting to you, if you scan the guests Are you saying we can`t define the scope of the web, so there can`t be competition problems in the web, because the market is undefined?
Nature didn`t have to define "compete" in order for some creatures to spread while others went extinct. Regulators might want a definition in order to mandate things, but I don`t think we need one to predict what might cause the "Chromium-only Web" your article anticipates.
I think the by far likeliest outcome is a variant of (1). - engine competition becomes a thing - Apple fights it every corner and it`ll continue to be awkward to use a different browser - But they need to and do fund Safari - Some people switch but most stick with the default
Agreed, probably adding an integer helps? XD
The answer is staring you in the face, this is why the backlash against the iOS "Safari-only" web has been growing. History repeats we saw this with IE4, now with iOS & edge-protocol (though edge-protocol doesn`t effect as many people to have created any real backlash for MS).
> ... to make something part of the Web, you need to convince a browser engine to implement it. However, they cant (quite) go cowboy/cowgirl and do it on their own right now theyve all agreed to work together on the definition of what the Web is in [an SDO] Not quite.
Just because Jake A (and the rest of us) knows the dangers of monoculture doesnt mean Google wont baldly pursue its $ interests in this case. Your analysis really underplays Googles position. It is in OUR interests (we the peeps) to not have a monocult
My question in this debate would be along the lines of: is a browser-only web something we might contemplate? Personally I hope not.
I have the feeling that governments mostly don`t recognize that there`s a thing called the Web that they actually depend on. At least, a Web distinct from the Internet.
This still seems a bit rose-colored, your blog is still assuming positive intent by the Chrome team, and it still is pretty dire. Reality is even darker.
For what its worth as part the group thats driving to break iOSs browser monoculture, all of us want browser engine diversity and before we started we had long conversations trying to work out the risk of chrome taking over.
Itll be a dead ringer for Mark Nottingham. Uncanny. Jake represents both of us. I should tweet more quotably
I feel there`s a "we`ve been through this already" argument. Back when it was "Webkit monoculture" rather than "Chromium" - a decade ago, maybe more, we reached the same conclusion. It`s not good for the web platform
FWIW: Ive also heard several people echo positive sentiments about a Chromium-only web, mostly from when I was more around the Chromium community. I dont think its representative of a majority, but I think its a notable enough minority?
More quote if you need it: As a developer in the IE days, and someone who has to ship things that work on iOS, I`m very much aware of the dangers of a browser monoculture. This is why I don`t think the iOS situation is good, and I don`t want to see that situation spread further.
@jaffathecake Hmm, now I need to choose a stylesheet rule for the update... hold on...
Can you trust me and Thomas as sources of "no, a Chromium-only web is not a goal of Chromium, and not a view we`ve seen tolerated in the community"?
I guess my question is: How representative of Chromium is that source? You have linked "[Many argue]( that browser engine diversity is the backbone of the open Web". That`s very much the view of the folks I talk to.
"So my ears perked up when I recently heard from a well-placed contact that `many in the Chromium community are arguing for a Chromium-only Web.`" Not sure what to make of this. It sounds like weasel words ( to me. Can you add more substance to this?
I`m surprised by your view that "wrenching ... Web infrastructure away from the W3C into the WHATWG ... didnt result in any visible negative consequences". I think it`s had profound, visible consequences both negative and positive (or at least been a factor in profound change).
