FW: [chairs] FW: New Specification Templates and Guidelines now Availabl

regrep message

Subject: FW: [chairs] FW: New Specification Templates and Guidelines now Available

From: Mary McRae [mailto:mary.mcrae@oasis-open.org]
Sent: Wednesday, February 21, 2007 10:52 AM
To: chairs@lists.oasis-open.org
Subject: [chairs] FW: New Specification Templates and Guidelines now Available

Please pass this information along to your specification editors. OASIS policy requires that all specifications must conform to the OASIS-supplied templates.

An updated set of templates has been created to align with the "Guidelines for Filenames, URIs, Namespaces and Metadata (http://docs.oasis-open.org/specGuidelines/namingGuidelines/resourceNaming.html) as well as the OASIS Naming Guidelines: Metadata and Versioning (http://docs.oasis-open.org/specGuidelines/namingGuidelines/metadata.html) policies that were approved last fall.

The main template index page is here: http://docs.oasis-open.org/templates/index.html. Templates are provided in several formats: Microsoft Word, OpenOffice Writer, and XHTML. Please note that there are two versions for each application - one in which the Notices section conforms to TCs operating under the 15 April 2005 IPR Policy, and the other noted as 'legacy' which cites the previous Notices section.

The XHTML user guide (http://docs.oasis-open.org/templates/OASISSpecificationTemplateGuidelines.html) should be used in conjunction with all templates; the Word user guide - while containing useful information on the application of styles and field codes - has not been updated to include the new metadata and remove the obsolete categories.

OASIS encourages the use of RDDL (Resource Directory Description Language) documents to describe XML namespaces. A template is now available: http://docs.oasis-open.org/templates/rddl.html. This template should be considered 'alpha'; it is anticipated that it will be updated frequently as we determine 'best practices' related to its usage.

I encourage editors who are authoring in one of these formats to migrate to the new templates now rather than waiting until submitting for Public Review. I am more than happy to answer any questions and provide assistance. Also, please note that the OASIS TC Process Policy requires that specifications now be submitted in XHTML. We are well aware of the problems editors are experiencing in trying to generate valid XHTML from Word or OpenOffice that still adheres to the style requirements. We strongly encourage the use of structured markup in the authoring environment - whether it be DITA, DocBook, or XHTML. I will be providing assistance for those TCs still working in Word or OpenOffice to properly convert their documents to XHTML.

I urge all chairs and editors (and anyone else who is interested) to attend the Chair and Editor training sessions that will be held in conjunction with the Symposium. The materials will be made available to everyone shortly thereafter.

We will also be setting up a new mailing list for editors (tc-editors@lists.oasis-open.org). Once the list is established I'll be sending out a note with subscription instructions. The main purpose of the list will be to post information relating to the creation, maintenance and submission of TC work products. While the list is intended to address the needs of TC editors, all members are welcome to subscribe.

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Mary P McRae

Manager of TC Administration, OASIS

email: mary.mcrae@oasis-open.org

web: www.oasis-open.org

phone: 603.232.9090

OASIS Symposium:
"eBusiness and Open Standards:
Understanding the Facts, Fiction, and Future"
15-18 April 2007 San Diego, CA USA
http://www.oasis-open.org/events/symposium/