[xtm-wg] IDEAlliance and TopicMaps.org

[pconn@gca.org]

Dear TopicMaps.org members,

IDEAlliance has recently reached the difficult decision to cease serving as
the host organization to TopicMaps.org, effective today.  We strongly value
and support the work that your group is doing, but do not see where we are
adding any value.  This decision was reached after a great deal of internal
deliberations over the last few weeks, and after discussion with the
TopicMaps.org chair.

>From the beginning, the TopicMaps.org group adopted a business model for
managing the standards development, administration, and promotion processes
that was vastly different from that which the other IDEAlliance groups have
successfully used.  Typically, IDEAlliance carries responsibility and
authority for much of the project management, administrative, budgetary, and
marketing activities.  IDEAlliance is also the holder of intellectual
property on behalf of our special membership groups in order to protect
their interests.  Under the current model, IDEAlliance has none of these
responsibilities and therefore neither provides nor receives much value, and
we believe our resources can be better directed elsewhere.

Ownership of the TopicMaps.org YahooGroups will be transferred to your
chair, Eric Freese, and any remaining sponsorship funds we are holding will
be returned to the sponsor companies.  Any outstanding TopicMaps.org
materials such as web site, specification, charter, etc. that you maintain
should be modified to remove references to IDEAlliance as host organization.

I want you to understand that this, in no way, impacts the strong
relationship that GCA has with your members.  We look forward to Topic Maps
continuing to be a significant focus at our Knowledge Technologies and other
conferences.  As we have for many years, we will continue to be strong
advocates for topic maps technology and will continue to support the
important work taking place in ISO SC 34, WG 3.

Regards,
Paul

Paul F. Conn
Vice President, Electronic Business Initiatives
Graphic Communications Association
100 Daingerfield Road
Alexandria, Virginia 22314, USA
Phone:  +1 703-519-8173
Mobile:  +1 703-626-6842
Fax:  +1 703-548-2867
pconn@gca.org
www.gca.org
Chief Technology Officer
IDEAlliance
pconn@idealliance.org
www.idealliance.org


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