Re: Overall structure of the W3C

> On 1 Aug 2014, at 04:02, Nottingham, Mark <mnotting@akamai.com> wrote:
> 
> On <https://www.w3.org/wiki/AB/2014-2015_Priorities>, the first bullet in "Overall structure of the W3C" is:
> 
>> 1. Is the Consortium's current heavy weight structure that was created in 1994 still needed now? 
> 
> and Chaals comments: "We don't use the process we had in 1995 or even in 2005. This question is rhetorically sound but irrelevant."
> 
> I have to disagree here; this is THE question that the AB should be addressing. If there's a problem with how the question is phrased, that's easy enough to fix:
> 
> 1. Is the Consortium's current structure appropriate to the tasks at hand and the resources available? Specifically:
>    a. Is the multiple-Host model helpful to the goals of the W3C, or a hinderance? Are there alternatives?
>    b. Is the Team's size and makeup appropriate to our current workload, considering our limited resources?
>    c. Is the Membership model effective in furthering the goals of the W3C? What other options are there?
> 

I tend to agree with Mark on the above.

> As a Member, I'd especially like to understand what the multi-Host model brings to the table; we don't hear much about it, nor the activities of the "Steering Committee" (see <http://www.w3.org/Consortium/Agreement/Appendix1-2013.html> section 3g), which "sets overall policy and provides strategic guidance and review of the Consortium's activities.”
> 

I agree that it bears examination. I think the unique structure of W3C (the multi-host model) has both positives and negatives. I suggest approaching this from the perspective of fixing the negatives. Too much tinkering at one time could have unintended consequences.

Dan

Received on Friday, 1 August 2014 08:31:41 UTC