A few issues seem to be sitting just outside the charter of the HTML
working group:
* document validation tools/procedures
* conformance test suite
* user agent certification
As to the first, I have long advocated sgmls and the HaL validation
service. I have urged browser writers to include this feature. I'm
surprised that software vendors have not stepped forward to fill this
hole (other than folks like SoftQuad, EBT... but traditional SGML
tools have a reputation for poor usability.)
A number of HTML authoring books include a CDROM or some such with a
web browser, authoring tools, and validation tools. I expect these to
become more popular and easier to use.
It would be counterproductive for W3C to release products in this
space and remove a market opportunity for software vendors.
As to the second, I've shifted priorities somewhat to begin working on
it in earnest. Expect to see something before the end of the
year. (But set your expectations reasonably low -- I'm concentrating
on lexical issues to start. I don't expect to get to complex
link/cache/http interactions for some time.) If you have resources to
contribute, let me know. If you're just interested, keep an
eye on http://www.w3.org/hypertext/WWW/Test/.
As to the third, I'm looking into it. I expect to contract out the
service of certifying browsers to somebody like NIST or X/Open. I may
even contract out the design of the certification process, though I
expect it will be intimately tied to the conformance test suite.
Agan, if you have resources to contribute, let me know.
Feel free to discuss these issues on www-html@w3.org, or if
you're a W3C member, the w3c-tech@w3.org list. Let's keep the
discussion on html-wg focused on the documents at hand. Sorry
for the diversion.
Dan