Taking a step back, thanks for the article, dc -- I enjoyed it and the debate it has provoked. I certainly agree with your views on the overhyping and misapplication of technologies, although I think you've given an unbalanced description of XML to help make your case.

However, one comment in your follow-up really piques my curiosity.

>>XML is far from being a true standard.

Could you elaborate on this? I think this could be worthy of a separate article.