Is it necessary to have
Most browsers are forgiving but even so I add the pair in all tables that I use now. Even trivial tables. Especially now that I'm using CSS more and more to decorate those tables. All that being said I have old tables that still work fine on the newest browsers. I'm learning the hard way but taking the few extra Micro seconds to add the optional tags here and there ends up saving you money/time in the long run. Dave in every table? According to Standards.