Our HTML is XML

Tim Bray wrote:

There seem to be two kinds of XML projects: those where they send some emails and examples back and forth and are now in production, and those where they strike a task force to assemble the schemas, and the project is still in committee stage.

I replied that there is a third road, the Fascist-Publisher approach:

All our news articles conform to one of these two DTDs. One is a subset of XHTML with some additional elements, the other is IPTC NewsML. Take it or leave it.

The only problem with this approach is the following too-often-repeated dialogue:

Me: We can provide you with news in HTML.

Hapless Customer: Don't you have XML?

Me: Our HTML news is well-formed XML. [It would be valid, but there is no DOCTYPE declaration, to prevent hammering on the DTD on our web server.]

HC: But we want XML, not HTML!

Me: As I say, our HTML news is well-formed XML. [Noch einmal]