Re: Non-W3C Member Organizations Trying to join W3C Digital

Jim Miller wrote:
> 
> >> a.  DSIG is _not_ open; it is closed to W3C Member organizations ONLY
> >
> >Could you explain the rationale behind this, please?
> 
> W3C is a membership-based organization, and its members are interested in
> carrying out this work directly and quickly.  These members include over 150
> companies in the computer, network, telecommunications, service, publishing,
> banking, and other industries.  Membership in W3C is open, at very
> reasonable rates, to any company or organization that is interested in work
> like the Digital Signature Initiative.

I hardly think that $50,000 can be described as reasonable in the context of
my interest in such things (that is, as one of the maintainers of Apache).

> 
> I would like to emphasize that the call for participation in the Initiative
> makes it clear that the output of the project will be code and
> specifications ALL OF WHICH will be made available at no charge to the
> general public.  The change control and maintenance of both will be decided
> by the participants at the end of the project, and turning either or both
> over to a formal Standards body is certainly a likely outcome.

That would be nice, I suppose. But turning it over to the only standards body
worth turning it over to (the IETF, of course) will almost certainly mean that
it will come out completely different. Which is why the original working group
should be completely open.

Cheers,

Ben.

-- 
Ben Laurie                  Phone: +44 (181) 994 6435
Freelance Consultant and    Fax:   +44 (181) 994 6472
Technical Director          Email: ben@algroup.co.uk
A.L. Digital Ltd,           URL: http://www.algroup.co.uk
London, England.            Apache Group member (http://www.apache.org)

Received on Monday, 16 September 1996 13:50:54 UTC