Re: [dita-help] DHTG Followup Poll ... please read

[Sebastian E Fuhrer <sefuhrer@us.ibm.com>]

Withdrawing the current draft makes
sense.  

What I don't understand is that there
should be an official OASIS process whereby if the "vendor" is
rejecting material because they are not included in it, or feel they are
put in an unfavorable light, that vendor should be willing to join the
group, or find representation from their organization, and should then
be willing to enhance the document with their own flavor or raise issues
with the help TC against what they/their representative finds so offensive.


There needs to be some work on the part
of those rejecting this document to come in and make it better.

Sebastian E Fuhrer
IBM User Technologies
Dept. 269 Build. 004-2/G103
507.253-4918
Tie-line 553-4918
 sefuhrer@us.ibm.com

"When one begins to live by habit and by quotation, one has begun
to stop living. " ~James Baldwin

stan@modularwriting.com

03/19/2009 09:11 AM

To	dita-help@lists.oasis-open.org, joewe@writersua.com
cc	stan@modularwriting.com
Subject	[dita-help] DHTG Followup Poll ... please read

Hi --

This email is a follow-up to a discussion and informal consensus/resolution
at the DITA Help SC meeting yesterday afternoon (03/18/09). The following
motion was discussed and affirmed by consensus of four meeting attendees.

RESOLUTION: The DITA Help SC withdraws the current draft of the DITA Help
Technology Guide from both the DITA Technical Committee and DITA Adoption
TC for review and approval. We will notify the TCs before they meet again.

CONTEXT: The DITA TC has reviewed and discussed the DHTG at two of its
weekly meetings. At least two TC members believe that the inclusion of
information about DITA help implementations by commercial vendors in an
"OASIS-approved" document opens one or more parties to perceptions
of vendor bias and/or anti-trust legal complications. The DITA TC has not
voted to approve/disapprove the current draft and has deferred the issues
of precedence and liability to the OASIS staff and any counsel they choose
to involve. The TC discussions and emails on these issues have been spirited
and somewhat fractious. In the face of a potentially protracted legal review
in OASIS, the likelihood of resolving this crisply is quite low. Continuing
to seek a vote from these TCs to approve/disapprove the DHTG when they
perceive that they are not in a position to resolve perceived or real legal
issues is counterproductive. Let's withdraw the DHTG from TC review, defuse
the situation, and let the OASIS staffers and lawyers establish/clarify
relevant OASIS-wide policies. The TCs have other pressing DITA 1.2 business
and our SC has numerous initiatives involving features and gathering feedback
from the Help community. It's time to move on.

FEEDBACK: DHTG authors especially -- please email the list with your thoughts
on this motion by Monday, March 23 by 12:00PM/EST (noon). The DITA TC meets
on Tuesday morning at 10:0AM/EST. 

Thanx,
Stan Doherty
Thursday, 03/19/2009