CfC for closing the NFC WG and relicensing (copyright) the 2 alternative versions of the spec to move to Community Groups

Hello All,

The NFC WG charter [3] expired 1 November 2014.  Work on the spec under the previous charter was from Intel and Don Coleman[4].  The WG had only a single implementation so no chance to complete a W3C spec (which would require 2 independent implementations).  Given that state, it seemed unlikely that re-chartering could, or should, be approved.

The WG approach was changed with a proposed new draft [2] and a proposed new WG charter[1].  That was an attempt to attract broader participation, to enable an API that would work in Web Browsers and to attract a second independent implementer.  That has been successful in gaining new interest, but not in participating in the WG.   It appears that moving the Web NFC API editor's draft to a Community Group may be more successful. The goal of a Community Group would be to continue to work on the Web API draft version, get participation from Browser vendors and make it clear there is enough implementation interest, and then move it back to a W3C WG, preferably a large W3C WG rather than a single purpose WG like the current one.

If this CfC is approved, the WG would ask the Director to close the NFC WG.  The Director would be asked to license a WG Note containing the current TR [4] under a copyright license that allowed it to be taken up by a Community Group or elsewhere (that is legacy, dropped by the WG already, but some are interested in continuing it for a low level API).  The newer Editor's draft [2] for a Web API is recent and was written by Intel.  In order to have both old and new approaches relicensed by W3C[[6], it seems likely the new draft would need publication as a FPWD which doesn't make much sense with the WG closing.  However, Intel could contribute the Intel contents of it (almost everything) to a CG and the (few) other recent contributors could be asked to repeat their contribution in the CG.  If that proves not to be possible, this CfC also asks the Director to relicense the new draft so that it could be moved to a CG as well.  The Community Group planned to take up that draft would use the CG template for its charter[6] and would be based on the charter the WG has been developing[1].

If you have any comments or concerns about this CfC, please reply to this e-mail by 3 March 2015 at the latest. Positive response is preferred and encouraged, and silence will be considered as agreement with the proposal.

[1] http://w3c.github.io/nfc/charter/index.html
[2] http://w3c.github.io/nfc/
[3] http://www.w3.org/2012/09/nfc-wg-charter.html
[4] http://www.w3.org/TR/nfc/
[5] https://www.w3.org/community/council/wiki/Templates/CG_Charter
[6] http://www.w3.org/2014/12/relicense.html

Thanks,
Jacques.
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