Re: OOXML [was Re: GNOME Foundation Board Meeting Minutes :: 7/6/07]

[Jody Goldberg <jody gnome org>]

On Thu, Nov 01, 2007 at 11:11:07AM -0700, Andy Tai wrote:
> OOXML will be a de facto standard entirely due to Microsoft's dominant
> position in the computing industry... the fight is about preventing it to be
> a formal standard.
> 
> We cannot prevent the former.  We can prevent the later.  A more activist
> opposition to OOXML is called for.

That is a dubious proposition.  MS has failed to get fast track
acceptance.  That delays them, little more.
 
> Option 3 is useful only if we can veto (or organize a veto, or a stall) of
> the OOXML progress toward being a standard.  The current participation is
> not of that manner.

I have a significant problem with the ethics of that.  Being on a
standardization committee requires good faith participation.  To
join with the intent of sabotage is unacceptable.  Indeed that is
one of the few areas even MS has not yet descended to.   They could
easily have joined ODF, or had their minions attack it.

> People can try to "make it suck less" but GNOME should not be involved in
> that, since that makes GNOME "a pawn to weaken ODF."

There are many many levels to disagree on here.
     - We are no one's pawn.  MS has not tried to control our
       actions in anyway.
    - Does our participation does not materially impact OOX
      adoption.
    - ODF should be judged exactly the same way as free software.
      If it is beneficial, people will use it.  Neither GNOME
      nor KDE benefits when our partisans attack the other project.
      We should be spending our time improving ODF, or our filters,
      rather than wasting it trying to defeat MS.