The Web Applications Working Group has published a W3C Recommendation of Widget Interface. This specification defines an application programming interface (API) for widgets that provides, amongst other things, functionality for accessing a widget’s metadata and persistently storing data.

The Web Applications Working Group has also published a Last Call Working Draft of Pointer Lock. This specification defines an API that provides scripted access to raw mouse movement data while locking the target of mouse events to a single element and removing the cursor from view. This is an essential input mode for certain classes of applications, especially first person perspective 3D applications and 3D modelling software. Comments are welcome through 28 November.

Learn more about the Rich Web Client Activity.

The Web Performance Working Group has published two Proposed Recommendations and invites implementation of the Candidate Recommendation today:

• A Proposed Recommendations of User Timing, which defines an interface to help Web developers measure the performance of their applications by giving them access to high precision timestamps. Comments are welcome through 28 November.
• A Proposed Recommendation of Performance Timeline. This specification defines an unified interface to store and retrieve performance metric data. This specification does not cover individual performance metric interfaces. Comments are welcome through 28 November.
• A Candidate Recommendation of Timing control for script-based animations. This document defines an API web page authors can use to write script-based animations where the user agent is in control of limiting the update rate of the animation. The user agent is in a better position to determine the ideal animation rate based on whether the page is currently in a foreground or background tab, what the current load on the CPU is, and so on. Using this API should therefore result in more appropriate utilization of the CPU by the browser.

Learn more about the Rich Web Client Activity.

The Web Events Working Group has published a Group Note of Touch Events Extensions. This document defines extensions to the Touch Events specification that have been implemented by one or more browsers. This document is no longer being developed. Learn more about the Rich Web Client Activity.

The Linked Data Platform (LDP) Working Group has published a Working Draft of Linked Data Platform Use Cases and Requirements. To foster the development of the Linked Data Platform specification, this document includes a set of user stories, use cases, scenarios and requirements that motivate a simple read-write Linked Data architecture, based on HTTP access to web resources that describe their state using RDF. The starting point for the development of these use cases is a collection of user stories that provide realistic examples describing how people may use read-write Linked Data. The use cases themselves are captured in a narrative style that describes a behavior, or set of behaviors based on, and using scenarios from, these user stories. The aim throughout has been to avoid details of protocol (specifically the HTTP protocol), and use of any specific vocabulary that might be introduced by the LDP specification. Learn more about the Semantic Web Activity.

By Carrie Wells, The Baltimore Sun

Morgan State University has opened an investigation into a student's allegation that members of a fraternity he wanted to join rejected him because he is gay.

Brian Stewart said he dreamed of joining Morgan's chapter of the Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity and thought members would be impressed by his academic accomplishments — Stewart said he was a White House intern — but he was rejected the day after his interview.

He believes it is because of his sexual orientation, citing social-media messages using an anti-gay slur that someone sent him and told him were between fraternity members.

"I couldn't even be angry because I was so hurt," he said.

Members of the fraternity chapter and the national organization did not respond to requests for comment.

A Morgan State spokesman, Jarrett Carter Sr., said the university opened an investigation into Stewart's allegation after he lodged a complaint last week.

"The university doesn't tolerate or accept any kind of discrimination," Carter said. "It's something that the university takes very very seriously."

Carter said that discrimination — in Greek life or elsewhere — is against university policy and that those found in violation can face disciplinary action after a review by a panel of students, faculty and staff.

Stewart, a 20-year-old senior business major, said he wanted to join Kappa Alpha Psi — Morgan's chapter is called Alpha Iota — because his pastor and mentor from his youth was a member. He said he grew up poor in Annapolis and that his mentor had a major influence on his life.

"What he offered to me, I wanted the ability to offer that to someone else," Stewart said.

Stewart said he is no longer interested in pledging the fraternity but that he filed a complaint because he wanted to raise awareness.

"I didn't know I was going to have no control — that my interview meant nothing, my achievements meant nothing, because they had already made up their minds," Stewart said.

cwells@baltsun.com

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