[TriLUG] [OT] W3C and the Promotion of Fee-based Standards for the Web

[rpjday]

On Mon, 1 Oct 2001 prhodes at vdsinc.com wrote:

> > Folks... if you have not seen this there are only a few hours left to
> > make your voice heard. Please go and read this... our internet is in
> > danger from corporate interest again!
>
> > http://linuxtoday.com/news_story.php3?ltsn=2001-09-30-001-20-NW-CY
>
> FWIW, I sent in a comment to W3C, yesterday.  Just a few minutes ago, I
> received a phone call
> from a gentleman from the Washington Post, who got my name & number off my
> comment. He said he
> was doing a story on this issue, and wanted some comments and feedback.

this whole thing is such a fiasco, it's hard to know where to start.
i spent some time reading a lot of the feedback to the w3c and, based
on that, it's hard not to conclude that the entire w3c board should be
taken out and flayed.

first, a w3c spokesperson claimed that they had been soliciting feedback
since mid-august.  technically, that's true -- apparently, the w3c had
set up a mailing list.  they just didn't bother to let anyone know.
certainly, given the implications of this proposal, the regular suspects
like slashdot, linuxtoday, varlinux would have been all over this story
like white on rice.  instead, a deafening silence.

one person went back and checked the traffic on that mailing list,
and for over a month, virtually nothing until (from memory) sep 28,
when it just *exploded* with several hundred outraged messages.  as
one wag noted, "i guess someone let the cat out of the bag."  indeed.

  next, we have the w3c's spokeswoman (whose name escapes me at the
moment) saying something like, "we really want your feedback, but it's
no good sending us e-mail that just says 'DON'T!'.  that doesn't give
us anything to work with in terms of constructive critisism."

  oh, please.

  is it even remotely believable that no one at the w3c could have
imagined what the entire open source community's reaction would have
been to this clearly corporate proposal?  this suggests a unprecedented
cluelessness on the part of people who should know better.

  i can see the same group of people now: "let's see, here's a new
proposal that suggests we take all proponents of open source and
whack them in the kneecaps with a ballpeen hammer.  hmmmmm ...
how do you think they'll react?  i guess we better open this up
for some feedback."

  and if anyone thinks the w3c is acting honorably, i just read
(but have not yet nailed down the details) that they are in fact doing
an end run around their own protocol and skipping one of the steps
in publicizing proposals and getting feedback.  putting this whole
thing on the fast track, as it were.  no sense giving the community
any more time than they really need to to have a voice in this.

  at this point, it's not hard to conclude that, with committee
members from microsoft, h-p and other community-minded citizens
(sarcasm alert on), as alan cox wrote "i can smell the rot from here."

  the w3c has pretty clearly lost its credibility.  this is not
something a simple apology will paper over.  "whoops, sorry, i guess
we just didn't think this through enough" ain't gonna cut it.
several people have already proposed that any power to dictate
web standard be taken away from w3c, since it's clear they don't
know how to handle it, and given to some other body, like the IETF.
or FSF.  or EFF.  at this point, anyone but w3c.  for that group
to claim that they really had no idea what the backlash would be
from this is pretty inane.  one can fairly conclude that they're either
corrupt or clueless.  in either case, they shouldn't be allowed to
play with dangerous toys like world-wide standards.

rday

p.s.  news flash on headline news:  nasa considering ways to allow
advertising in space.  yes, you too can be sitting out on a dark
summer night with your loved one, staring up at ... a "windows"
logo.

-- 
Robert P. J. Day
Eno River Technologies, Durham NC
Unix, Linux and Open Source training