Re: Decision process in the HTML working group

Having read this interchange so I think I understand the points of 
view as well as I can, I think I agree with some of what Maciej is 
saying. I am fond of his argument that requiring "no" to be 
accompanied by a "formal objection" may actually stifle dissent, 
since it rather ups the ante to a level that may make dissenters 
nervous. Most dissenters, I suspect, find no particular pleasure in 
derailing trains.

On the other hand, what I see as being a strong value of consensus 
within the W3C seems very important to me. Should a train happen to 
have jumped its tracks while the passengers are sleeping, the current 
process forces folks to take the time to examine alternative points 
of view that might otherwise become lost in the cacophony of so much 
debate. I would not be surprised if the antecedents to at least some 
of the formal objections could be traced to public statements made 
within public-html. Though the ability for anyone to have recognized 
the existence of such sentiments prior to their formal expression 
might have been completely masked by the volume of ongoing discussion.

Especially in a group so large as this, allowing substantive concerns 
to rise to people's attention is one effect of the current voting 
system that I would be disappointed to see evaporate. Best ideas must 
be encouraged to bubble up, even when those who disagree represent a 
majority and even when that majority may be right.

respecfully,
David

Received on Wednesday, 9 May 2007 17:36:33 UTC