[docutils:feature-requests] #104 Relax class name normalization.

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**[feature-requests:#104] Relax class name normalization.**

**Status:** open
**Group:** Default
**Created:** Thu Mar 28, 2024 08:22 PM UTC by Günter Milde
**Last Updated:** Thu Mar 28, 2024 08:22 PM UTC
**Owner:** nobody


The current rules for class name normalization are [motivated by compatibility to CSS1 and the restrictions on identifiers in HTML4](https://docutils.sourceforge.io/docs/ref/rst/directives.html#identifier-normalization).
20 years later, they restrict class names that will work in 99% of browsers used.

On 2024-03-25, a user posted a request to [docutils-develop](http://sourceforge.net/mailarchive/forum.php?forum_name=docutils-develop) with a use case where this outdated normalization stands in the way:
> I've recently started using Plausible for analytics tracking. Unfortunately
their naming schema for custom events is incompatible with docutils CSS
class normalization, since Plausible relies on either "=" or "--" for
naming custom events ([plausible docs](https://plausible.io/docs/custom-event-goals#you-can-also-add-class-names-directly-in-html)).
>
>Reading through the rationale for the chosen [normalization](https://docutils.sourceforge.io/docs/ref/rst/directives.html#identifier-normalization),
why is "=" excluded? Would an update ever be considered where "=" was
allowed in class names for docutils?




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