Re: A proposal for revising the rules on TAG Participation

Now I'm sorry that I didn't respond to this sooner . . .

On 07/12/2014 11:08 AM, Noah Mendelsohn wrote:
>
> On 7/12/2014 12:50 AM, David Booth wrote:
>>
>> No matter how well-meaning one is, it simply is not possible to maintain
>> neutrality (or the appearance thereof) when one's food and mortgage are
>> paid by one's employer.
>
> David, I think you go too far there. Though I'm sure it's unintentional,
> this is really a slight to many people who on various W3C committees
> have done just that, or at least come very close.

Goodness, no such slight was intended!  I'm sorry my comments sounded 
like any sort of slight to those who have done such great work with such 
dedication and integrity.  My comments were simply intended to remind us 
of the inherent dangers of making such a rule change -- dangers that are 
not eliminated regardless of the dedication and integrity of the 
individuals involved.

David

> More enlightened
> employers and employees understand that, at least for some companies,
> promoting the long term health of the Web has more business value than
> advantaging some particular corporate product or feature. In such cases,
> the feeling of conflict goes way down.
>
> Furthermore, and I suspect at the core of Marcos' concerns: even
> enlightened and well-intentioned bureaucracies tend to more easily
> recognize the value of, and plan for, formally committed employee
> activities. Joining a committee gives an organization a one-time chance
> to ask the questions: is this what we want (e.g. Marcos) to do? Are we
> committed to supporting (him) with travel money and work time? When that
> same employee is making that same contribution more informally, the
> organization has a less clear opportunity to buy into that commitment. I
> saw this at IBM all the time, and indeed I see it now: when I was
> officially chair of the TAG, Tufts University (my current employer)
> easily understood my contribution. If I tell them I participate in
> discussions like this to continue to help the W3C they tend to ask "but
> what are you really doing?".
>
> In short, there are good and understandable reasons why contributing to
> the TAG informally can be harder than formally participating as a TAG
> member.
>
> Noah
>
>
>
>

Received on Wednesday, 16 July 2014 03:18:39 UTC