Please, no RAND

I've always relied on the W3C standards as a way to ensure that web
applications I write will be interoperable and free of legal
entanglements.  Don't put an end to this by allowing non-royalty-free
patents to become standards.  It will be a sad day indeed when homegrown
tools are _legally unable_ to interact with the World Wide Web.  But that's 
what will happen if RAND patents are allowed in standards:  after all, if 
they aren't intended to be widely used, why bother?

                                    Thanks for your attention,
                                    John Eure
                                    (a CS Master's student)
                                    (no, this isn't my normal account)


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