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I didn't say people should stay on because they're the only people who
understand the thing. I said that if you bring new people in half way, they
will bring in yet more "good ideas" and the spec will get even bigger as a
result, in fact it will grow indefinitely. You did a classic - arguing
against a point I didn't make, and failing to address the point I did make!
Occasionally one wishes that certain individuals would retire, so that the
rest of the group can get rid of the hobby-horse that's only there because
that one person wouldn't shut up about it. But new people will bring their
own hobby-horses, so it's not really a solution.
Michael Kay
http://www.saxonica.com/
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Rick Jelliffe [mailto:ricko@allette.com.au]
> Sent: 19 August 2005 10:28
> To: 'XML Developers List'
> Subject: RE: [xml-dev] Avoding a repeat of W3C XSD - was Re:
> [xml-dev] Is Web 2.0 the new XML?
>
> >>
> >> >>2) Maximum two-year membership of working groups (2 years
> >> on, 2 years
> >> >>off). This will encourage smaller specs and encourage
> fresh eyes on
> >> >>problems.
> >
> > You would either finish within the two-year deadline, or
> you would never
> > finish at all. To finish a spec, or anything else, you need the
> > self-discipline to stop adding things. People coming into
> the process
> > half-way through find it very hard to do that. Whether
> you're new to it or
> > an old hand, it's always easier to add things than to take
> things out.
>
> Rather, at the end of 2 years, if you hadn't finished it, you
> would hand
> it on to someone else. The groups don't need a 2 year life, just the
> members. (The practical result would perhaps be that really
> long projects
> would make their deadline within two years, then recharter
> with the same
> members under another name. But at least there would be a different
> dynamic for implementable, finished layers, rather than
> 5-year monoliths.
>
> If a standard-in-progress is so tricky that only a handful of people
> really understand what it is about, that is not a reason to keep them
> active longer in order to finish the masterpiece, it should
> be a red flag
> that something is wrong IMHO. The world is full of cooperative, smart
> people.
>
> Cheers
> Rick Jelliffe
>
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