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- From: Jonathan.Robie@SoftwareAG-USA.com
- To: simonstl@simonstl.com, xml-dev@xml.org
- Date: Sat, 14 Oct 2000 12:29:22 -0400
Title: RE: sunshine and standards development
Simon St.Laurent wrote:
> The W3C is neither a charity nor a corporation. Effectively,
> the W3C is the legislature of the Web, drafting laws that its
> members and others should follow.
The W3C is a member-run organization, not a legislature. The W3C has no ability to pass laws, and if it tried to do so, it would have no way to enforce them. The home page of the W3C says the following:
"The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) develops interoperable technologies (specifications, guidelines, software, and tools) to lead the Web to its full potential as a forum for information, commerce, communication, and collective understanding."
The W3C is in the business of developing technologies, not legislation. I think that it is fair to say that the W3C has a leadership role on the web, and that its standards are widely used. But it is not a legislature. The "people" did not elect me to work on W3C standards, my company asked me to represent them in the W3C.
Does the Web need a legislature? If so, what would you want the legislature to do?
Jonathan
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