really basic HTML

Greetings!

What is the purpose of these tags?
<.TBODY><./TBODY>
<.THEAD><./THEAD>
<.TFOOT><./TFOOT>
(minus the periods of course)
Reading my handy dandy HTML bible makes them sound redundant.
The reason I ask is I'm checking out the coding on some pages I like and have 
seen them used along with the regular table tags.

Also, is it appropriate to ask someone why they coded their page the way they 
did? I sometimes see some really wacky stuff and would like to understand 
why! I've been looking at sites of web design businesses, so would they be 
willing to tell lil old me? I know that not every page is hand coded, but if 
an editor is used, doesn't it say what was used at the top of the coding?

Thanks all!
Sherill

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