LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 11, 1998-- AIP Board Member Appointed As Liaison to WSP www.association.org The Association of Internet Professionals (AIP), the largest global association of Internet Professionals, today announced its endorsement of the Web Standards Project (WSP). WSP (http://www.webstandards.org) is a coalition of Web builders and users committed to convincing the developers of Web browsers, such as Netscape and Microsoft, to adopt and promote industry standards. WSP co-founder Glenn Davis of Project Cool initiated the project to remedy the fact that Web builders spend at least 25% of their time dealing with differences between how Netscape's Navigator and Communicator browsers and Microsoft's Internet Explorer display Web content. (Netscape and Microsoft control more than 90% of the total browsers market.) The WSP is devoted to promoting standards that will enable Web developers to eliminate these differences and create content that will work with all browsers. With more than 8,000 members internationally, AIP is the leading professional association for Internet Professionals. Founded in 1994, AIP is the largest and fastest growing professional association in the industry, dedicated to unifying, supporting and representing Internet professionals worldwide. In endorsing the work of WSP, the AIP Board of Directors appointed its Secretary and Vice Chair of Technology, Dan Shafer of CNET Builder.com, as its liaison to WSP. Shafer also serves on the 14-member WSP steering committee and has long been an advocate of the adoption of industry standards to make life easier for both Web designers and surfers. "AIP firmly believes that it is imperative for standards adopted by organizations such as the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) to be incorporated completely and correctly into browsers as swiftly as possible," Shafer said. "Without standards, neither users nor developers can rely on the universality of access to the content of the Web." Davis agreed. "AIP joins the WSP as an important global association of Web developers and designers with no particular axe to grind other than the overwhelming sense that standards are essential to the continued growth and use of the Web." WSP's intent is to convince Netscape, Microsoft, and other browser manufacturers, to adopt a basic set of standards consisting of HyperText Markup Language (HTML) 4.0, Extensible Markup Language (XML) 1.0, Cascading Style Sheets (CSS-1 and CSS-2), and the core HTML and XML Document Object Model (DOM) specifications of the W3C. It also includes ECMAScript (the official name for the browser scripting language called JavaScript by Netscape and JScript by Microsoft). Finally, it wants these browser manufacturers to agree to support Extensible Style Sheets (XSL) as soon as that specification is approved by the W3C. About the Association of Internet Professionals The Association of Internet Professionals (AIP) is the premier professional association for Internet professionals worldwide. AIP, founded in 1994, is the largest and fastest growing professional association in the industry. In order to unify, support and represent the global community of Internet professionals, AIP provides the benefits and programs that allow both its individual and corporate members to succeed in today's Internet/Intranet/Extranet marketplace. The organization also serves as the voice of Internet professionals and industry corporations before the public, press, and within the online community on issues shaping the future of the Internet. AIP's web site can be found at www.association.org. CONTACT: Association of Internet Professionals Andrew Q. Kraft, Executive Director 732/744-1374 akraft@association.org Copyright 1998, Business Wire