• From: "Michael Kay" <M.H.Kay@e...>
• To: "John Cowan" <cowan@l...>, "XML Dev" <xml-dev@i...>
• Date: Mon, 3 Aug 1998 18:55:10 +0100

>Other capitalized terms are used as in RFC 2119.
...>6.  An NVP MAY NOT signal an error if ...

I don't know offhand what RFC 2119 says on the matter, and I
haven't got time to look, but any set of rules that includes
the term "may not" is liable to be misinterpreted by half
its audience. When I am reviewing specifications, "may not"
always gets a thumbs down.

I don't much like "may" either. Everything is permitted
unless the specification prohibits it, a sentence whose main
verb is "may" therefore says nothing.

Mike Kay


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