Added some explanatory notes to answer questions. These will be removed before WD publication.

Author: tabatkins

css-variables/Overview.html

@@ -268,6 +268,12 @@ <h2 id=defining-variables><span class=secno>2. </span> Defining Variables</h2>
 
   <p>
 
+  <p class=note>I chose the $ prefix over the var() function for terseness.
+   We should try to avoid nesting functions as much as reasonable, as it's
+   hard to read. The $ is required in the variable definition as well as the
+   variable use for consistency - every instance of the variable name within
+   CSS has the same form.
+
   <div class=example>
    <p>This variables declaration:</p>
 
@@ -297,6 +303,14 @@ <h2 id=defining-variables><span class=secno>2. </span> Defining Variables</h2>
    imported within scoped stylesheets are only available within the scoped
    stylesheet and any imported stylesheets.
 
+  <p class=note>Making all variables global is the simplest solution that
+   works, and is consistent with other at-rules that define names, like
+   @font-face and @counter-style - the web seems to get by great on "ad-hoc
+   scoping" via adding short prefixes. If it is shown that we need a more
+   complex scoping solution in the future, I believe we can do so via a
+   general scoping/namespacing mechanism that applies to all the at-rules
+   that define names.
+
   <p>A &lsquo;<code class=css>@var</code>&rsquo; rule is <dfn
    id=inactive-var-rule>inactive</dfn> if it's present in a disabled or
    alternate stylesheet, a stylesheet with a media query that evaluates to

css-variables/Overview.src.html

@@ -108,6 +108,8 @@ <h2 id="defining-variables">
 
 	<p>A ''@var'' rule defines a variable and assigns a value to it.  It consists of the at-keyword ''@var'' followed by a variable name (an identifier starting with the "$" character), followed by the value and finally terminated with a semi-colon.  The result of this rule is that the given value is assigned to the given variable name.<p>
 
+	<p class='note'>I chose the $ prefix over the var() function for terseness.  We should try to avoid nesting functions as much as reasonable, as it's hard to read.  The $ is required in the variable definition as well as the variable use for consistency - every instance of the variable name within CSS has the same form.</p>
+
 	<div class=example>
 		<p>This variables declaration:</p>
 
@@ -122,6 +124,8 @@ <h2 id="defining-variables">
 
 	<p>Defined variables are available to all stylesheets in the document.  Thus, using ''@import'' to include a stylesheet also includes all variables defined in the stylesheet (and makes all variables declared outside available within the stylesheet, if applicable).  ''@var'' rules present in disabled or alternate stylesheets do not define variables.  Scoped stylesheets are an exception to this: variables defined in the global scope are available within a scoped stylesheet, but variables defined or imported within scoped stylesheets are only available within the scoped stylesheet and any imported stylesheets.</p>
 
+	<p class='note'>Making all variables global is the simplest solution that works, and is consistent with other at-rules that define names, like @font-face and @counter-style - the web seems to get by great on "ad-hoc scoping" via adding short prefixes.  If it is shown that we need a more complex scoping solution in the future, I believe we can do so via a general scoping/namespacing mechanism that applies to all the at-rules that define names.</p>
+
 	<p>A ''@var'' rule is <dfn id='inactive-var-rule'>inactive</dfn> if it's present in a disabled or alternate stylesheet, a stylesheet with a media query that evaluates to false, or is present within a conditional rule group [[CSS3CONDITIONAL]] whose condition evaluates to false.  <i>Inactive</i> ''@var'' rules do not define variables.  All other ''@var'' rules are <dfn id='active-var-rule'>active</dfn>.</p>
 
 	<p>If new ''@var'' rules are added to the document through any means, such as direct CSSOM manipulation or new stylesheets being added to the document, or if an <i>inactive</i> ''@var'' rule becomes <i>active</i>, they define variables.  Similarly, if ''@var'' rules are removed from the document or become <i>inactive</i>, they no longer define variables.</p>