Re: [xtm-wg] Fixing language.xtm and country.xtm

[Murray Altheim <altheim@eng.sun.com>]

Lars Marius Garshol wrote:
> 
> Now that it has been decided that TopicMaps.Org is going into OASIS I
> think the first thing that needs to be done is to fix the problems
> with the language.xtm and country.xtm PSI sets. These PSI sets are
> very important (since they're used by many topic maps), and since
> they're also part of XTM 1.0 I think it is highly important that they
> work properly.
[...]

Before we start spending a lot of time working up specifications or 
fixes to specifications, this group needs a set of rules for publication
of such things. I've advocated this for about six months, but absent an
organization that functions as one there's no way for me to publish any
working drafts without breaking the rules. I'm quite aware of the problems
with the existing language and country topic maps and have drafts of 
their replacements. I can publish them on my own site, but that's not
my intention unless I have some assurance that I'm not wasting my time
given we have no process to deal with that.

I note that we've even had resolutions in this group that have passed
that have not been acted on, such as the seemingly unanimous decision
to put the names of the original editors of the XTM 1.0 Specification
back into the spec where they belong. That five minutes of work has
not occurred yet either. I'm hoping that once we adopt the OASIS 
charter we'll have a set of rules that people must decide to adopt
if they want to take part in the activity. 

I think that while this mailing list still exists, the sense of 
community we once had won't recur until we have the organizational
structure we need to maintain it. Spending a lot of time on work
items of the group absent a process by which to function (ie., absent
a "group") is ripe for misunderstanding and further problems. Put more
frankly, I'm not submitting my work to a group that doesn't by its own
charter and certainly by its emotional center really exist any longer.
I expect this will change come August in Montreal.

Murray

...........................................................................
Murray Altheim                            <mailto:altheim&#x40;eng.sun.com>
XML Technology Center
Sun Microsystems, Inc., MS MPK17-102, 1601 Willow Rd., Menlo Park, CA 94025

      In the evening
      The rice leaves in the garden
      Rustle in the autumn wind
      That blows through my reed hut.  -- Minamoto no Tsunenobu

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