[thelist] Re: Why code for standards

Arlen.P.Walker at jci.com Arlen.P.Walker at jci.com
Tue Feb 5 08:32:00 CST 2002


>To assume that your productivity will be decreased by better
organizational
>design of standards organizations is a whole other issue entirely.  I
>believe the motives for the current designs  should be studied, and
>considered that the current designs could use some improvements.  That is,
>unless you are saying they are already perfect?

There's a point we part company on in a hurry. I don't give three hoots and
a holler for the motives behind a technical standard. They just don't
matter. The only thing that matters is the standard itself: is it usable,
is it technically sound, in short is it workable? Motivation is fine for
the "soft science" arena; there it can matter. But in this arena the *why*
of a standard doesn't matter. Is it able to be used? What are the costs of
implementing? What benefits accrue from implenting it? Will it scale? Can
it apply to future developments? Those are the important questions.

No one's motives are pure. Doesn't matter if the group is 5 BigCo's or 500
SmallCo's or 1000 students. Everyone brings their own agenda to the table.
And claiming to be acting for the good of all is the height of arrogance,
because implicit in that claim is that the claimant knows what's best for
everyone.

To take this discussion out of the abstract "Money is Evil" realm it's in
right now, I'd be interested in knowing what kind of things a student or a
SmallCo would contribute that a university (not a few uni's in the W3C,
which *is* the subject of discussion, after all) or a research lab such as
CERN are not contributing. Nothing abstract, please, just a single concrete
example.

Have fun,
Arlen
Chief Managing Director In Charge, Department of Redundancy Department
DNRC 224

Arlen.P.Walker at JCI.Com
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