[topicmaps-comment] RE: OASIS vs W3C

["Tsao, Scott" <scott.tsao@Boeing.com>]

From: Bernard Vatant

> I can't answer of course for this - still potential - Member Section. But
it's clear and explicit in guidelines for OASIS TC's that liaison with
working groups on similar questions, inside or outside OASIS, is "strongly
recommended". 

I don't think this wording of "strongly recommended" is a strong-enough statement
for me as an implementor of those standards to be comfortable with.  Many, many
corporations nowadays are (almost) forced to send more than a handful of people
to participate in a myriad of standards bodies just to keep track of what is happening
with the standards and technologies shaping the World Wild Web, fully realizing
that many of them are doing exactly the same thing (from the end-user's perspective).

> [...] But you have to keep in mind the fact that Member Sections and Technical
Committees have somehow independent legal status inside OASIS. Even if the
creation of TC's may seem "random" to you, it's submitted to OASIS Board
approval, and I trust this approval process and rules to be a safeguard
against too much "randomness". It's in fact that kind of safeguard that the
community has looked for in the transition into OASIS. The TC's created must
be relevant not only in the frame of the Topic Maps community (or a part of
it) but of the wider communities represented in/by OASIS.

Again (nothing agaist you personally) wordings like "approval" and "trust" do not
bring more comfort to me (personally).  The "approval" process in OASIS is not known
to me and it can easily be perceived as "rubber stamping".  In fact, I wonder how
knowledgeable the OASIS Board members are with regard to the ongoing semantic-web
related activities in ISO, W3C, and OASIS (and others) and, if so, what are the
relationships (and/or dependencies) among those activities.  My impression from
the OASIS/TopicMaps.Org evening meeting in Montreal was that anyone could (sort of)
"dream-up" an idea and get few people to agree to start an OASIS TC.  And that is
the "randomness" I alluded to.

BOTTOM LINE (from my personal knothole): Corporations will start re-evaluate the
"true value" they get out of participating in multiple (duplicated) standards
activities and (may) decide to trim back substantially in view of the worldwide
economic situations we are in today.  It is (about) time for the standards bodies
to (willingly and proactively) work together to serve the interest of the user
community at large.

Regards,

Scott Tsao