coordination between DITA TCs?

I was and remain fairly uneasy about the creation of two separate OASIS Technical Committees both focused on aspects of DITA. My concern is that over time differences in the goals and approaches of the two TCs may develop and, if such conflicts aren’t identified and resolved, this could confuse the community of DITA users.

After the DITA TC call last Tuesday I spoke with Mary on the phone about my concerns. During our conversation she raised the possibility of using an OASIS Member Section which the two TCs could join as a way to provide coordination and resolve any conflicts that may arise between the TCs.

A bit later Mary also raised the possibility of reviving the OASIS “Joint Committee” as a way of providing coordination. The Joint Committee was part of the OASIS TC process in the past, but was removed in favor of Member Sections. A Joint Committee may have somewhat less overhead than a Member Section.

And of course ad hoc voluntary coordination/liaison between the two TCs through overlapping membership probably has even less overhead.

I think Don would like to make some progress on other agenda items during next Tuesday’s DITA TC call, but we can probably discuss ways to provide coordination between independent TCs during our call the week after next and see if there is interest in pursuing either a Member Section or a Joint Committee.

If you want to read up on the rules for Member Sections, see:

http://www.oasis-open.org/who/ms_policy.php

And the old rules for Joint Committees are available here:

http://www.oasis-open.org/committees/process_2006.08.02.php#2.16

-Jeff

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