Embedded and First Class Links, Temporary Truce

[Marc Stiegler <marcs>]

Thank you everyone for your responses to my questions about link 
behavior. In classic Fact Forum style, I will attempt to write 
down a series of statements we all agree with first, then move 
on to points of deeper disagreement.

Do we agree that:

1) Text attribute links must be embedded;

2) User-traversed links should sometimes have first-class status, 
in that they should have their own set of permissions, their 
own version control, and their own author. The implementation 
of this could be an empty document that does nothing but contain 
the link, built by frontends without modifying the doc & links 
layer.

3) Embedding a link in a document has consequences such that 
we cannot randomly assign the links to documents. If the links 
are embedded, we must give the user visual representations of 
where they are embedded, and tools for selecting the embedment, 
and explanation of how and why he should or should not embed.

4) It is possible to build a  system good enough to be wonderful 
with only first-class links.

If we agree on these things, I derive that we ought to have only 
first-class links for user-traversal in the first product. Anyone 
who doesn't see the derivation, please see me.

Before deducing the above summation, I wrote a much lengthier 
tract refuting various points made by various people, more or 
less leading to a conclusion that first class links are the right 
answer now and always. I have resisted my fierce desire to include 
all that work here, because it is not relevant till Release 2.0. 
I have put the argumentation into a separate place, to be pulled 
out when it's time to argue these matters to a final decision. 

After shrinkwrap.

--marcs