Re: in defense of standards

> I'm not arguing against the desirability of standards in communication, and
> I don't believe that Bijan or Pat are either.  I, and I believe Bijan and
> Pat also, are arguing about what should be said and, more importantly, what
> should not be said in the standard.  Thus trying to make your point by
> arguing that standards are necessary, or that the world will come to an end
> if your particular standard isn't adopted, doesn't advance your point of
> view one iota in my eyes.

I was quite happy with your arguing against my specific proposal.  It seemed
to me that Bijan was, however, actually arguing against the desirability of
standards in communication, or at least against some approach to
standards which I was trying to use.  (I should disclaim that I am no
great expert in IETF process, but it does seem like a good approach.)
I *think* he thinks we're just not ready for anything like that, and
standardization before implementation is a bad idea.   (And that's a
fairly compelling point.  I'm more interested in figuring out how the
system can work than in writing normative language, myself.)

What kind of statement do you imagine we might produce?  Would it talk
about people and software agents and what they may/should/must do?

    -- sandro

Received on Friday, 10 October 2003 11:14:07 UTC