[jonahx]

All I'm saying is that so far the only tangible reason you've given is that it makes doing javascript selections easier. I'm not saying using data-* liberally is a bad idea, I'm saying that is a bad reason for it. You've also mentioned semantics, which would be a good reason, but I'm still unlcear what the semantic argument is. To use the stripe row example, 'class="alternateRow"' seems just as semantic as 'data-rowtype="alternate"'. If I'm still missing something, I'd like to learn more. Again, additional examples would help. Discussing this kind of thing in the abstract is a recipe for miscommunication.