Meaning of the word STANDARD (was RE: Standards (yet again) was RE:Use of XML ?)

[Sean McGrath <sean.mcgrath@propylon.com>]

A standard is any concept, convention, technique or physical form
that serves as a blame deflection gambit to individuals
engaged in spending other peoples time and money.

Anything that has been written about by a respected source or
endorsed by a government or corporation or just
advertised heavily qualifies.

The only proviso is that those individuals who may be
on the receiving end of the Reductio Ad Mensura
argument must have heard about it from some source
other than the individual that stands before
them, rationalizing their actions in terms of "following
the standard".

Sean