Are button html tags outside of a form valid?

Question

I just noticed that, in soundcloud, the \"action\" buttons on a track (like, repost, etc...) are all html button tags. Moreover, they are neither inside a form nor they bind

Answer 1

Yes. Since a very long time.

From whatwg.org :

Contexts in which this element can be used:

Where phrasing content is expected.

In the era of ajax, most inputs aren't just send by submitting a form. And most buttons are just used to execute an action on click while using a recognizable widget.