[Noooxml] [odf-discuss] URGENT: Support threatened open standards in Europe before Sept 15, 2007

[arebenti at web.de]

On Wednesday 19 September 2007 14:31:28 Pieter Hintjens wrote:
> On 9/19/07, Lars Noodén <lars at umich.edu> wrote:
> > Shall we found one now?  If so, what approach should it used to ensure
> > there is a reasonable pays off in comparison to effort?

The problem is right now that all orgs do just a little bit "Open Standards", 
at least claim it. And some low-skilled industry lobbyists for the promotion 
of "choice" through "multiple standards" are busy to undermine independent 
open standard proposals in the administration. 

Of course no one wants his advocacy work to get parallelised by an entire new 
project and I assume there could be very legitimate funding concerns. I am 
also well aware that "Alliances" often fail. But the matter is not who of us 
will do the Open Standard evangelizing or lobbying but how to ensure that 
someone does it at all.

Now, I registered openstandards.de, Nicolas short time later openstandards.eu 
for his wikidot petition project, Stephan registered offenstandards.de This 
Summer! I was surprised that they were all available. Just have a look at 
openstandards.org: an abandonned website "reactivated 2002" that never took 
off, http://www.openstandards.net/ - looks hijacked, let's don't talk of .com

> It's very nice to see that people are thinking what I've been thinking.
> ... (since 'open' itself is becoming
> abused and will become more so as time goes on, and anyhow all
> standards should by definition be open, it's a tautology).

Actually I just registered a talk for an US conference named "Open Standards 
NG" that is aimed at the development of a new generation of the Open 
Standards concept. What never really went through is the inherent criticism 
of traditional standards development. 

"open standards" is blurred because you find no advocacy or stable teaching.
The aim is to enter the opinion platforms and present a teaching that holds. 
At least the domain names were free. 

http://xml.coverpages.org/openStandards.html  has a great comment:
""Open" and its collocations: Open, like "choice," "transparent,"
"accountable," "fair," "reasonable," and "non-discriminatory," is a term 
everyone wants to use as descriptive of their enterprise operations. [..] 
Since corporate entities of all kinds — convicted monopolists, industry 
cartels acting as self-appointed patent licensing authorities, pure-IP patent 
farming collectives, and accountable standards bodies — characterize their 
operational frameworks as "open," the value of "open" as a marketing claim is 
seriously diluted."

> Anyone who would like to help me work on the strategy and planning for
> this organisation, drop me a line.  I'll put together a workgroup and
> circulate the planning documents I have.

*drop*

//Andre