[wp-trac] [WordPress Trac] #2666: WordPress shouldn't use URI instead of URL just because URI is geeky cool.

[WordPress Trac]

#2666: WordPress shouldn't use URI instead of URL just because URI is geeky cool.
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       Id:  2666       |      Status:  new                     
Component:  General    |    Modified:  Tue Apr 18 18:13:28 2006
 Severity:  minor      |   Milestone:                          
 Priority:  normal     |     Version:  2.1                     
    Owner:  anonymous  |    Reporter:  SilverPaladin           
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 I know this is a topic that comes up periodically, but the last time
 I found it specifically addressed on the Wordpress Forum was 2004 and no
 one
 directly addressed it even then. So please bear with me if you think
 you've
 heard it all before, for I'm going to try to be to the point.

 I should say, Yes, I do know the difference between the a URI and a URL
 and did
 the obligatory URL vs URI blog entry to prove it. The link is here
 http://www.TheCodeCave.com/?p=93, but if you know the difference between a
 url and URI you don't need to visit. This isn't a "get visitors" stunt,
 but
 I knew people might try to explain the details to me, and I wanted to
 outline my thoughts on the subject and definitions before a Q&A session
 was
 started.

 Now, to the meat of it all...
 I am speaking against the use of URI specifically in the Options form, but
 also in the documentation.  WordPress is asking for a URI when it will not
 accept all valid URI. Therefore it is asking for the wrong thing.

 The simple fact that WordPress it specifies *address* in the prompts for
 the
 "WordPress address (URI):" and "Blog address (URI):" is a clue that it
 only
 wants an URL.

 Beyond that blogs now can have URNs (which are valid URIs).  My blog,
 like many others, has an ASIN from Alexa. Therefore, a valid formated URI
 for
 my blog would be:
 ASIN:B000F1J35C. That fits the URN specification and it for now an for
 ever
 more will uniquely identify my site even after my site has long
 disappeared
 from the web. However, can I enter that into the URI field in Wordpress?
 No,
 of course not.  You CANNOT enter a URN into those fields, because
 Wordpress
 does not want any old URI. Wordpress specificially wants an URL.

 My main point here, is that it is foolish to use a fancy
 term that new users don't know just so that your software looks technical
 and geeky. This is the sort of slippery slope that you have with open
 source
 projects. Bad habits are promoted when smaller projects use a bad term or
 code segment that is picked up in larger projects.

 WordPress should do the right thing and change the term back from URI to
 URL.

 I see four primary reasons to do this:
 * URL is the language used in most professional projects.
 * The term URI is not known to the general computing public.
 * URL is more accurate in all WordPress use cases.
 * Some valid URIs would produce errors if entered into the URI field.

 Can anyone provide any reasonings for using the less specific URI term
 other
 than "It's the current fad."? If not, I'd support a decision that the next
 major release include documentation and code changes required to replace
 URI with URL.

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Ticket URL: <http://trac.wordpress.org/ticket/2666>
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