What Is The WaSP

Source : http://www.voidix.com
Author : voidix
Published on : January 14, 2007
  
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The WaSP, or the “Web Standards Project” is a group founded in the spirit of creating a healthy internet via utilizing the recommendations set forth by the W3C. In their own words, they are “a grassroots coalition fighting for standards which ensure simple, affordable access to web technologies for all.” Lead by Kimberly Blessing and Drew McLellan, this coalition has many members and has gained much recognition among webmasters and developers alike.

Their Goal

You may be wondering with this geek task force is really “fighting for,” however, their goals are fairly simple. The W3C studies and examines the languages we use to create websites. They then make rules, or “standards” that should be followed it order for the content you create to be accessible to a maximum amount of people and programs. According to the Web Standards Project, “These technologies, which we call “web standards,” are carefully designed to deliver the greatest benefits to the greatest number of web users while ensuring the long-term viability of any document published on the Web.” By utilizing these standards webmasters seek to create a healthier internet, while at the same time make their websites accessible to a wider range of users and internet-faring devices.

History

The Web Standards Project was born in 1998, the web was really starting to take off, and with the difference in browser recognition the WaSP foresaw major problems. Netscape and Microsoft’s internet browsers were being used by about 50% of internet users, and yet, the two software programs ere nearly incompatible. Today it may seem that the work of the WaSP and the standards set forth by the W3C are indeed having an impact.

What Can You Do

What you can do is simple, try to learn about what makes your website functional.  Use the Validation services at the World Wide Web Consortium to see how you can improve your coding skills. There are validation services for every recommendation, including the most popular web design languages such as CSS, HTML, and XHTML.