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Subject: ODF future versions to JTC1


Good morning, and best wishes for a happy holiday & New Year season
for everyone.

I assist the consortium with matters relating to liaisons and
submissions to other standards organizations.  As we've already
successfully submitted ODF v1.0 2d. ed. to ISO/IEC JTC1, I am
following with interest the TC's plans for issuing and sequencing its
future releases.   Monday's agenda includes plans to discuss the
disposition of ODF v1.2, and a second possible v1.0 errata, so I plan
to attend and listen.

Let me offer some comments about current OASIS liaison policies, and
the state of our collaboration with JTC1.

As you may know, last year, OASIS received substantial feedback on our
versioning and maintenance policies.  We revised its Liaison Policy
(which governs our outside submissions like PAS) in response.  A
significant factor in that work was concern from the global community
that, once OASIS has entered into a collaborative project with
parallel approvals (like OASIS's ODF and ISO/IEC 23600), it is
important that the two threads remain in sync, throughout the lifetime
of the work.  Among other things, OASIS ODF v1.1, which brought the
2005-06 version up to 2008, and added some desirable features, was a
cause for some concern.  The community implementing 26300 might see
itself as left behind, if the OASIS TC does not send the final v1.1
version to JTC1 as an update that also may be made to 26300.

Our revised Liaison Policy
(http://www.oasis-open.org/committees/liaison_policy.php#submitwork)
addresses those issues in several ways.

1.  Submissions of new works from a TC still follow the same
approximate path as was previously in place;  a few of the criteria
have been modified.  This is the path taken by the original ODF v1.0.
Sections 1-4 of the submissions rules describe it.  The rules give the
TC the primary role in submission decisions.

2.  Errata now are subject to a shorter path.  Under Section 5(a) of
the submissions rules, once an initial submission (like 26300) has
been approved, OASIS automatically will send any later Approved Errata
to the receiving organization (like JTC1).  No TC vote is required.
This automatic rule was based in part on our experience with ODF v1.0
2d ed.  So, the TC should be aware that, when it develops future
errata, there will be an obvious question about its status, and the
use or choice not to use OASIS's fast-track "Approved Errata" process
(under our TC Process rules).

3.  Similarly, we now have a special rule in place for future
versions.  Under Section 5(b) of the submissions rules, once an
initial submission (like ODF v1.0 2d ed.) has been approved, the TC
should express its desire about submissions of the future versions,
but OASIS retains the right to make an executive decision about future
versions (like v1.1 or 1.2).  This is because a receiving organization
(like JTC1) may feel that we have committed to keep their parallel
version current; and OASIS may need to act to fulfill those
commitments.

In this case, I have a concern that the ODF TC still has not acted to
prepare v1.1 for JTC1 receipt.  Any attempt to provide v1.2 to them
might be considered out of sequence, or encounter other difficulties,
if v1.1 is not first provided as was expected.  I'm happy to discuss
this with the TC, if wished.

Kind regards JBC

~ James Bryce Clark
~ General Counsel, OASIS
~ http://www.oasis-open.org/who/staff.php#clark


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