- From: Vadim Plessky <lucy-ples@mtu-net.ru>
- Date: Mon, 1 Oct 2001 14:55:16 +0000
- To: www-patentpolicy-comment@w3.org
- Cc: comment@openphd.net
Dear Sir/Madame, By chance, today I learned about upcoming changes in W3C licensing policy I have deep concerns that proposed Fee-based Standards for the Web can dramatically damage web development process, including both developers' part and potential or existing users. I am user of different OpenSource software (KDE, Konqueror, Mozilla, Apache). Developers of this software did their best to achive W3C standards compliance and promote these standards to the Internet Community. I have to admit that I personally advocate W3C standards over property implementations, receiving no compensation or reinbursement for this. Therefor, I am quite surprised about possibility for some companies to collect fees using W3C standards. My decision to switch from property standards (like MS Windows, MS IE, etc.) to Open Standards was not easy and painfull. I am 10+ years Windows user, and started using Linux just around 1.5 years ago. But I was so much surprised in early 2000 by quality of Open-Source software and fast update/bug-fix process, that I considered switching process acceptable and effected transition, step by step, from Windows to Linux desktop. Proposed possibility of fee-based standards for the Web can change my opinion on W3C standards in general, and on my personal support and advocating of them. Even if such dramatic, I would say - cultural, changes in W3C policy are effected, I doubt you (or companies lobbing this) will achieve "expected" results. Open Source software had tremendous success *before* support from Big Companies (like IBM, Oracle, etc.), and promoting fee-based standards will just cause Open-Source developers to "branch" such standards, creating own, probably incompatible or partially-compatible implementations. Do Web users need this? I guess no. And I believe USERS should be top priority not only to Open-Source developers, but for commercial companies (creating closed-sourced software) as well. I would like to ask you do not change W3C policy, standing now for comprehensive, universal standards accessible for everyone, including Open-Source developers, for implementation and usage. If you have any questions or comments on points which I raised in this mail, please contact me by: Tel. 007 095 374-2371 or by email <plessky@cnt.ru>, or just by replying to this mail. -- Sincerly Yours, Vadim Plessky Moscow, Russia http://kde2.newmail.ru (English) 33 Window Decorations and 6 Widget Styles for KDE http://kde2.newmail.ru/kde_themes.html
Received on Monday, 1 October 2001 06:54:21 UTC