Creating semantic HTML has been a way of life for most modern web developers for past 4-5 years. At least it has been for me. With all the benefits that come along with coding your HTML this way, you would think it was an easy sell. Convincing other web developers that upgrading their techniques and skill set to this more modern way of markup. And convincing companies it was in their best interest to code (or re-code) their sites this way. But it wasn’t. Lack of time, money, resources, understanding… pick your poison.
These days more people “get it”. They understand the this is the way forward. And they see the benefits when this modern way of creating semantic HTML is put into action. But not everyone does, so there still some education to be done. You still need to give the the modern semantic HTML speech you’ve given a hundred times. And for those who are in the semantic HTML club, you’re still referring it to “modern semantic HTML that follows web standards” (or a variation thereof) when talking to you buddies.
Now there’s a new term that seems to be blazing a trail through various web development blogs to describe this modern way of coding. POSH. Plain Old Semantic Markup. It’s looking to make a brand name out of what we do everyday. Basically what AJAX did for the XMLHttpRequest object and all that it makes possible. You say “AJAX” and people know what you’re talking about without you having to explain further. Unless of course, they don’t know.
Personally, I like the idea of having a brand name for what we do. Look what AJAX did for “asynchronous server request that doesn’t require a browser refresh”.
So what about the term “POSH”? Is this the best we can do? I can’t think of the term “POSH” without thinking of the Spice Girls. Not sure what that says about me, but lets not go there right now. On the other hand, no one could talk about AJAX without thinking about the abrasive cleaning agent, but that seems to have passed. Time will tell to see if this sticks or not. If it does, I may just stick to “semantic HTML”. Like the cool kids who still refer to AJAX as “XHR”.
Comments
Whilst I see the benefit of wrapping the term into a catchy phrase that can be sold during white-board frenzied sales pitches by men named Rupert who seem a oddly uncomfortable wearing diesel jeans and a sports jacket and who can use it as they talk about the ‘value-added immersive user-driven rich interactive experience offered by the future information exchange destinations in the modern mob-pod-casting generation of myspacers”. Those people need this, maybe we need it, it helps people who don’t know think they understand… “Ahhh yes, I see, you’re fully POSH accredited, in that case we’ll sign the contract”.
The problem you’ll always have is suddenly everyone will be POSH™ even things that aren’t POSH. For a while it would become overwhelming and then the backlash will begin (the backlash being the reason why so many now use XHR rather than the AJAX phrase). Once the backlash subsides we’ll return as an industry back to a state where everyone is POSH so no one says they are and no one can remember what all the fuss was about anyway.
I’m off to make a aqua beveled badge saying “Powered By POSH” which I’ll place next to my Media Temple Sponsorship and my HTML Editors Guild Gold Star.
[…] is doing the rounds. It makes a nice AJAX style jargonistic acronym that can be used by people who don’t really […]
A while back the term ‘HIJAX’ was going around, but never quite caught on as a catchy way to say ‘progressive enhancement’ (see http://domscripting.com/blog/display/41 ). I liked it but it just pissed people off when I said it. I still find myself having to explain the idea occasionally and wish I could just say ‘We’ll use HIJAX on top of POSH of course” and be done with it.
BTW, I found myself listening to the soundtrack of ‘Chitty Chitty Bang Bang’ nearly every day over the winter (as interest my son has mercifully left behind). There’s a song called ‘P-O-S-H Posh’ that’s stuck in my head now. Thanks a lot.
Oh the posh, posh traveling life, the traveling life for me…