Validate HTML and warn of errors on posting

[matgb]

Title:
Validate HTML and warn of errors on posting

Area:
posting, crossposting

Summary:
Currently it's possible to break a layout completely by putting in extra DIV or /DIV html elements, we should validate on posting to prevent this

Description:
It should be possible to have posts validated on arrival to check for extra HTML open/close elements that aren't sorted correctly and deal with them in some way.

A friend this morning had his Delicious crosspost hit my reading page, something I normally appreciate, however there was an extra /div at the end of the list and it completely broke my reading page--it utterly destroyed his entry page.

We should be able to check entries on posting, and if on the update page warn the poster of the issue, if posted from a client we could possibly insert the 'invalid markup in entry, raw contents below' warning and not parse the HTML for display.

Ultimately, the solution matters not, so alternative solutions are welcome, but we should definitely look to fix the problem, and the invalid markup with warning seems to be a practical solution.

Poll #8391 Validate HTML and warn of errors on posting

Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 60

View Respondents

This suggestion:

View Answers

Should be implemented as-is.
43 (71.7%)

Should be implemented with changes. (please comment)
3 (5.0%)

Shouldn't be implemented.
0 (0.0%)

(I have no opinion)
14 (23.3%)

(Other: please comment)
0 (0.0%)