[cornstalks]

Questioning whether something new is actually needed is absolutely worth doing, so long as it’s done respectfully.

This is a standard that affects billions of people and many implementations. It’s great to ask if something is really needed or if it’s just adding bloat.

We shouldn’t just grow the standard without first asking if the growth and added complexity carry their own weight. If someone proposing something can show that, then wonderful.

But yeah, just straight up trying to block these people from being able to ask these questions totally is toxic. As long as they’re asking and participating respectfully there’s no need to be a jerk toward them.

[paulhilbert]

Again: when did "well-known websites use this" become the motivating factor behind standard design?

The blink tag was used by well-known website and it's universally recognized as a bad decision.

[cornstalks]

It’s fine if you disagree with the premise of the question. But it’s also fine to ask the question, since presumably the asker wants to know the feature would get enough usage to justify its addition to the specification, and an easy way to show it gets usage is by showing some well-known sites would use it.

But what is not fine is trying to exclude people from the conversation and silence them just because you have a disagreement.