Bylaws update - comments

[Eduardo Gutentag <egutentag@gmail.com>]

Regarding the deletion of lines 33-57 in the Draft OASIS Bylaws Update distributed on 8/24/2020:

The above mentioned deletion leaves OASIS with no mission other than some vague fluffy statements with no real meaning.

It does not delimit in any way what the focus of the organization is.

Specifically, it never states whose market needs and directions it talks about, nor what kinds of standards, specs, code, policies or methodologies it will develop and refine -- and therefore by implication what kinds it will not.

It provides the organization with no coherent goals; it gives the organization no reason to reject a proposal for the development and refinement of standards related to the classification of pornography acts, for example; or a proposal for the development of methodologies for untraceable murder activities; or why a TC should not facilitate the adoption of socially damaging artifacts like bullying or revenge humiliation. And even if it were argued that there are other reasons why the organization could reject such activities, the fact remains that lines 26-32 of the proposed bylaws lack all significance. Unless indeed the purpose of this change is to say that OASIS will now engage in the development of tennis standards, winter crops methodologies, or insecticide dispersal policies.

By declaring implicitly that the current focus on structured information standards is to be abandoned, while not declaring what the alternative(s) would be, OASIS becomes a purposeless, drifting, formless amoeba of an organization whose only goal is, apparently, to survive.

If that were to become the case I would immediately request that my name be withdrawn from the roster of members.

Eduardo Gutentag