> I'm sorry but I'm new to this list.  Where can I get access to these
> permathreads?  Is there any web site that links to them?

Google:

        <permathread> site:http://lists.xml.org

i.e.:

        syntax semantics site:http://lists.xml.org
        namespaces horrible OR mess OR broken site:http://lists.xml.org

(http://lists.xml.org hosts the XML-DEV archives.)