OOXML Documentation: ISO Concerned

Activists in the Boycott Novell forum have exposed the more than 5,500 page document in PDF, HTML, Microsoft spreadsheet, and various other formats on their website. Even though OOXML was certified as an ISO standard under turbulent and unsteady circumstances, ISO has been keeping the comprehensive documentation under wraps. The Boycott Novell activists describe the documentation exposure as a reaction to the "systematic abuse and the demise of ISO." Alex Brown, who was partly responsible for the OOXML process at ISO, describes the exposure in his weblog as a "brazen act of copyright violation."

Brown goes on to say that "the boobies have even been so good as to boast about the bandwidth requirements their crimes have occasioned" and ends with the words, "Even now, I can hear those Geneva lawyers licking their lips over this one..." Boycott Novell webmaster Roy Schestovitz is not fazed by the possible legalities. He adds, "Feel free to pass around (or even ridicule) those ~60 megabytes of lock-in, which Microsoft won't let you see." He is not alone in this opinion: the numerous ongoing updates are tagged with the authors’ names.

The website contributors also point to IBM's recent "provocative call" for ISO "to do better," with IBM challenging their participation in the process (reported here). Brown, in another blog, considers IBM's call a threat and questions whether they purposely pulled their staff from the SC 34 committee meetings on Jeju Island in Korea. Quote: the "IBM people are certainly conspicuous here by their total absence." In response, IBM's Bob Weir indicates in his own blog that that their attendance record shouldn't be a surprise in that it was always based on availability due to meeting location. Rather as proof of their growing commitment he adds, "to put it in perspective, the US SC 34 shadow committee currently has around 20 members. Before Microsoft stuffed it we had around 7."

During the meeting in Korea the ISO committee also declared further support for the ODF format. The Groklaw legal forum, which also documented the ISO proceedings, considers the SC 34 committee decision "a takeover attempt of ODF." Rob Weir considers IBM's collaboration in OASIS, the initiative behind ODF, as substantial. He writes, "Despite Microsoft's successful attempt to stuff SC34, as they did NB's around the world, participation from IBM remains in the range of 0 to 2 participants. I'd be hard pressed to justify the expense of any greater attendance. The real work on ODF goes on in OASIS. That's where we put our people...."

The unrest surrounding the OOXML certification by the standards body in Switzerlandhas still not reached an end. IBM's reaction to the standards comes just days after some national delegates declared establishing their own standards. The Norwegian delegationpulled more than half its members, and the EU Commission's investigation into Microsoft's comportment is still inconclusive.