Re: [oiic-formation-discuss] My perspective

[robert_weir@us.ibm.com]

"Peter Dolding" <oiaohm@gmail.com>
wrote on 06/30/2008 05:56:00 PM:

> >
> > It is a balancing act.  In a sense, the ODF TC can define
conformance
> > however it wants.  We can have a very loose definition that
makes many
> > applications conformant.  Or we can have a very strict definition
that no
> > existing ODF application can pass.  I don't think it makes
sense to define
> > conformance for ODF to be such that only heavy-weight, traditional
desktop
> > editors can claim conformance.  Doing so would risk leaving
out the most
> > interesting and vibrant part of the market today.
> >
> This is exactly why I said TC should not be headed by implementers.
> But by neutral organization.    We cannot care if everyone
fails.
> Look at the html acid tests when they were released not one rendering
> engine passed.

Are you volunteering?

Honestly, I've talked, talked, talked about ODF interoperability
for almost two years now, gave presentations at conferences, wrote about,
talked to vendors about it. No one stepped up to the task until I pushed
for it.  So here we are.

If at the first meeting of the TC we have a bounty
of choices to pick from for Chair of the TC, then I will count myself fortunate
and my participation on this list not entirely wasted.

> 
> You just made the same claims as Microsoft made for why failing the
> first Acid Test was fine.
> 

And what exactly does that suggest to you?  That
I am Microsoft?

> The key thing is that we can order the applications from the most
> conformant to the least and be able to tell implementers what section
> of there program is not working correctly so they can fix it.  
This
> is a TC not some ok you have a defect you can slide place.
> 

I don't think we'll be testing or reporting any results
officially.  OASIS is not a conformance certification lab.  However,
we can produce the documents that fully describe the tests that others
can administer, rank and report.

Remember, some vendors may choose to test early code,
alpha or beta versions, etc.  We want them to feel safe to do so.
So I think it behooves us to loose that moral squint and realize that bugs
are bugs and no one should be ashamed to find one in their product.  Think
of it like a disease.  If you put a moral cast to the disease, then
you risk driving the afflicted away from the clinics.  We want the
vendors to come, voluntarily, to get a full workout on what their ODF interoperability
issues are, and to work with other participants on the TC, to address their
common issues.  

If we can think of it like that, as a public health
issue, rather than an us versus them issue, then we'll make progress,

> Undocumented sections of standard and Applications not following
> standard are the two sections we always have to have issue with.
> Part of being a TC bending peoples noses out of joint from time to
> time is required even if its your own company robert.
> 
> Peter Dolding

I'd like to first see how much we can accomplish without
rearranging anyone's face.

-Rob