Mea culpa from inventor of the Web
“Sorry about the slashes.” That’s the gist of an apology from Tim Berners-Lee, inventor of the World Wide Web (and we mean actual inventor; unlike Al Gore in regard to the internet, Berners-Lee’s status is largely undisputed and not the subject of SNL skits).
Speaking at a recent symposium on the future of technology, Berners-Lee said he regretted all the paper, trees, and human labor that had been spent by forcing people to type out the double-slash that comes after the “http:” in web addresses. Apparently, the slashes were not strictly needed, and could have been left out had he thought ahead. Honestly, given the astounding amount of thinking ahead which Sir Berners-Lee otherwise accomplished, I believe we can give him a pass. So, please, apology appreciated, but no worries. (Photograph licensed by Uldis Bojārs under Creative Commons.)