[odf-discuss] Gnome Foundation and ECMA

[Lars Noodén]

Daniel Carrera wrote:

> The problem with that turn of phrase, Lars, is that it confuses 
> "we want to make OOXML more interoperable for the good of FOSS" 
> with "we love OOXML".

Yes.  And that, I see, is the whole point.  Since my teenager years, I
make a distinction between what people want, think they want, say they
want, and the actual outcome of their actions. These distinctions turn
out to be well documented in many areas from psychology to reference
libraries.

There are also distinctions between actions of an individual and the
actions of an individual working on behalf of a larger organization.
If Jody is acting as a private individual, then that's perfectly fine.
Gnome and Jody simply have to publicly state that so that the position
is clear.

Timing is part of the problem.  It's not something I had considered, but
many here have pointed out that waiting until after the BRM will
ameliorate much of that.

Regardless of the noble or ignoble claims from the participants in Ecma,
the bottom line is that participation by GNOME right now is seen by many
as GNOME backing MOOX as a second ISO standard.

> ... 
> With that said, Lar's suggestion of an open letter or some sort of official 
> Gnome position is worth consideration. For example, a sort of
> FAQ mostly containing the things that Jeff has already said ("Gnome
> does not dictate the opinions of its members, nor should it" and "Gnome
> feels that making OOXML more clear will help FOSS")
> and maybe also something to the effect of "yay for ODF" and
> "only one ISO standard", if that's the way Gnome feels.

Yes, knowing where Gnome stands, officially, would eliminate the need
for most of the debate in these threads.


Regards
-Lars