[XML-DEV Mailing List Archive Home] [By Thread] [By Date] [Recent Entries] [Reply To This Message] Re: Open Standards Processes
Does anyone have a theory as to why some standards still "work" in the IETF process? Some ramblings: I think that big companies will work in an open environment when they are forced to. If the W3C hasn't got the staff to take on a particular task, then the IETF continues to do it and the big companies grit their teeth and "play ball." If I'm right on that (and I don't know if I am), then if the W3C did NOT exist, then vendors (who must wrap themselves in open standards) might be forced to play ball in open organizations. Or they might create a W3C-like consortium themselves. I'm not sure if Netscape and Microsoft would actually get together and do anything without TimBLs lead. Perhaps Netscape and allies *vs.* Microsoft. But then Microsoft could wrap themselves in the open standards banner by aligning with the truly open organization. I think that open processes do not necessarily have to use the IETF model: "everyone is equal, everyone yells, nobody gets their way". Rather, an open standards process could be organized as we organize governments: hierarchically and representatively. In other words, an IETF-like organization could set up tightly organized, bueraucractic, working groups just as the W3C does. (although I doubt that the IETF themselves would do that...) Big corporations could muscle their way into the "inner circle" by having employees vote (as they should!), but there could be an upper bound per big company (or even quotas set aside for various groups: small companies, users, etc.). It was not openness that made HTML impossible to standardize within the IETF. It was a poorly designed/defined standardization process. The reason SAX worked was because there was a benevolent dicator, an "inner circle" of implementors and deadlines. In other words, there was hierarchy and process. It might be interesting to see what would happen if a completely open organization were to submit a spec. to the W3C (i.e. SAX). Then we might have the best of both worlds. TimBL's blessing would encourage vendors to implement it, but the process would be open. Paul Prescod - http://itrc.uwaterloo.ca/~papresco "Perpetually obsolescing and thus losing all data and programs every 10 years (the current pattern) is no way to run an information economy or a civilization." - Stewart Brand, founder of the Whole Earth Catalog http://www.wired.com/news/news/culture/story/10124.html xml-dev: A list for W3C XML Developers. To post, mailto:xml-dev@i... Archived as: http://www.lists.ic.ac.uk/hypermail/xml-dev/ To (un)subscribe, mailto:majordomo@i... the following message; (un)subscribe xml-dev To subscribe to the digests, mailto:majordomo@i... the following message; subscribe xml-dev-digest List coordinator, Henry Rzepa (mailto:rzepa@i...)
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