Visible Metadata

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A key microformats principle is that of making metadata visible. By making metadata visible consumers can easily form an opinion on whether to trust the author. Metadata hidden away in meta tags is easily abused for search engine placement or other gain since most visitors don't inspect the source code of the page. This principle also helps keep the metadata relevant. Hidden metadata is easily forgotten and can easily go stale whereas if it were visible to humans incaccuracies would soon be discovered and fixed.

See also: Don't Repeat Yourself, Reuse Not Reinvention