Comments for Arnaud's Open blog

Comment on A Standards Quality Case Study: W3C by Zaine Ridling

Zaine Ridling — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 05:45:43 +0000

Thanks for the clarification and backstory to W3C, Arnaud. Looking back at the past year’s MS-OOXML debacle, you could say that Ecma is the “diploma mill” for today’s standards. In other words, when we all have PhD’s (or, anyone can get one with enough cash), then the degree is suddenly worthless.

Same applies for an ISO standard as the process stands.

Comment on A Standards Quality Case Study: W3C by Boycott Novell » Microsoft’s Death Row of Standards and Why W3C Must Be Careful

Sun, 27 Apr 2008 04:00:32 +0000

[...] presentation from an IBM employee in Europe has just been shared a little more publicly. It describes the serious problems ISO will be facing after the countless OOXML scandals that worked in Microsoft’s favour. Not all standards [...]

Comment on A Standards Quality Case Study: W3C by Chris Ward

Chris Ward — Sat, 26 Apr 2008 18:24:24 +0000

I get the feeling that OOXML is designed to address a different market requirement than ODF.

ODF is for documents which need to be legible and reviseable for decades or centuries; the maintenance and operations manual for an air-traffic control center is an example I can think of.

OOXML is for ‘high-impact short-lived’ documents; a sales pitch, which can be used for wrapping fish and chips next week. Whether the sales pitch wins or loses, you’ll want a different one next quarter.

Quite why we should have an ISO standard for ’sales pitches’ is beyond me. We shouldn’t; it benefits no-one.

Comment on A Standards Quality Case Study: W3C by Wu MingShi

Wu MingShi — Sat, 26 Apr 2008 17:24:24 +0000

t is of course W3C’s decision on whether it is going for ISO PAS accredition. I believe that ISO PAS accredition is one way ISO recognize and organization. I do not think this is appropriate for W3C, since we are talking about an organization on par with, not subserviance to ISO. With PAS, you still have ISO acting as an “overseer” deciding whether to accept/reject W3C standards as ISO standard.

I think something along the line of joint committee is better. Something like ISO/IEC. (Yes, I know. IEC also ‘blessed’ OOXML). I haven’t read the charter for joint committee. But I think it means W3C’s blessing is needed alongside ISO for something to pass the joint committee. That is more suitable for W3C.

Comment on A Standards Quality Case Study: W3C by Fiery Spirited

Fiery Spirited — Sat, 26 Apr 2008 08:00:49 +0000

Thanks for the many educating post. I am certain quite many people will use at reference when OOXML supporters keep insisting that the OOXML process was perfect.

Comment on What Microsoft’s track record tells us about OOXML’s future by Sebastian Sauer

Sebastian Sauer — Sat, 19 Apr 2008 04:07:50 +0000

2008-03-13; http://lists.kde.org/?l=koffice-devel&m=120544930311272&w=2

So, everybody lost here the possibility to turn that format into something useful but the real loser is the ISO cause everybody will in the future judge there “standards” now by this single case. Let’s face it, ISO did render itself useless and this is imho the real tragedy

Comment on What Microsoft’s track record tells us about OOXML’s future by Arnaud Le Hors

Arnaud Le Hors — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 18:14:06 +0000

len,
I posted this blog entry several days before the vote closed so your implications that I’m whining because somehow I lost (merely your interpretation of the outcome) are totally misled.

Comment on About my name and my struggle to get it said and written right by lnxwalt

lnxwalt — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 16:00:46 +0000

Arnaud, I think you can use to get an extra space if you’re using the HTML editor. I do know that if you use , Feedburner will complain that your feed is invalid.

I have to admit that I never recognized your name from the spec.

Comment on What Microsoft’s track record tells us about OOXML’s future by len

len — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 13:23:24 +0000

You Lost. Get Over It.

Comment on What Microsoft’s track record tells us about OOXML’s future by Winter

Winter — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 12:49:57 +0000

This would fit nicely in the Microsoft Standards Dirty Tricks History page on Groklaw:
http://www.grokdoc.net/index.php/Dirty_Tricks_history

Winter