I was preparing the previous entry (about Python form data processing), originally from dive into mark (Mark Pilgrim’s blog) and which I copied via NetNewsWire (grabbing the raw HTML from the entry). I happened to notice what I thought at first was a mistyped <p> tag, but which was in fact a <q> with accompanying </q>, putting quotes around the text inside. I asked my friend Tom via IM if he had ever seen a <q> tag before, but he hadn’t either.

This is one of those things that gets me obsessed. As I told Tom, I could feel it happening even as I was sitting there: Trumpets going off, leg bouncing, huge grin. Something really simple and stupid, but insanely obsession-producing.

Much nicer than a <blockquote> first of all, but also allows the browser to decide how to display it….like how would a screenreader deal with a <blockquote>? Tom wondered if it was part of XHTML. In any case, I am now on a <q>uest to answer this <q>uestion.

(Of course, the rest of the universe probably already knows about the <q>, but obsessions have nothing to do with logic or reality, really. :)