Re: [office] Proposed TC Meeting Agenda Items

[robert_weir@us.ibm.com]

Just to be clear.  I'm not proposing
that we discuss formulas in any technical detail at the next meeting.  I'm
merely suggesting that the TC acknowledges that formulas are particularly
important to OASIS ODF, that the formula specification rightfully belongs
in the OASIS ODF spec,  and that we form a subcommittee to research,
develop and recommend such a formula language.  I'd hope and expect
that you would fully participate in the subcommittee as a full & voting
member of the TC, and I earnestly hope that OpenFormula ends up being part
of the solution.  

But it has been over one year since
the public first noticed that formulas were not specified in ODF (for example,
yours and James Clark's notes to public comment list).  In that time
this fact has been picked up by ODF critics and the press.  A year
has passed and OASIS ODF does not appear to be any closer to a resolution
of this issue.  I believe it is time that the TC publically took a
stand and stated that this is a problem which it will solve. 

It has also been almost a year since
I saw an early draft of OpenFormula.  Although I freely acknowledge
that this is a wonderful piece of spec and shows much hard work by many
individuals, I must also note that it is issued under such IP terms as
which would prevent its inclusion into the OASIS ODF specification.  
Through months of discussions I believe that many of us now better understand
the nature of the IP issues involved, but I've seen nothing concrete that
would lead me to have strong hopes that this will be resolved in the near
future.   

If you have an alternative to offer,
or concrete reasons for optimism, I'd love to hear it.  This agenda
item would be moot if,  for example, you as copyright holder of OpenFormula,
were to submit it to OASIS.  That solution is in your hands.  If
you do that, I will publically eat my words, nominate you as chair of the
Formula Subcommittee,  and humble myself before you.    But
we're tried the alternative of just waiting.  We've done it for over
a year now.   It hasn't accomplished much.    I suggest
the TC needs to try something else.   To coin a Yogiism,  sometimes
the best way to accomplish something is to do it .

-Rob