From bill@amber.ssd.csd.harris.com Fri Mar 20 16:40:21 1992 Received: from [129.134.1.1] by dkuug.dk via EUnet with SMTP (5.64+/8+bit/IDA-1.2.8) id AA05201; Fri, 20 Mar 92 16:40:21 +0100 Received: from amber.ssd.csd.harris.com by travis.csd.harris.com (5.61/harris-5.1) id AA22980; Fri, 20 Mar 92 10:39:17 -0500 Received: by amber.ssd.csd.harris.com (5.61/CX/UX-5.0) id AA15517; Fri, 20 Mar 92 10:39:14 -0500 Date: Fri, 20 Mar 92 10:39:14 -0500 From: bill@amber.ssd.csd.harris.com (Bill Leonard) Message-Id: <9203201539.AA15517@amber.ssd.csd.harris.com> To: SC22WG5@dkuug.dk In-Reply-To: Lawrie Schonfelder's message of Fri, 20 Mar 92 14:41:24 GMT <9203201451.AA07329@danpost2.uni-c.dk> Subject: (SC22WG5.82) Re: Procedures comment by Psmith X-Charset: ASCII X-Char-Esc: 29 > Date: Fri, 20 Mar 92 14:41:24 GMT > From: Lawrie Schonfelder > The time for looking back at the problems of the past is over. A > cooperative relationship needs to be rebuilt and the rules of the > relationship between J3 and WG5 need to be spelt out so we do not get > into the mess again. If that means US procedures might need bringing more > into line with international ones then so be it. And perhaps the international procedures need to be changed as well. I don't see why the US should be the only one to change. I have always been bothered by the fact that, within WG5 and its parent bodies, each country gets an equal vote, regardless of the size of the user community within that country. This type of inequality was a major concern to the drafters of our Constitution; it led directly to our system of two houses of Congress, one of which gives each state an equal vote, the other of which gives the people proportional representation. Perhaps ISO should consider a similar system. I don't want to argue about the relative sizes of computer markets in individual countries, but one must admit that the US market is far larger than most of the individual countries of Europe. The US market also forms a large percentage of the total world market. When one goes on to consider that a negative vote by only 2 countries is sufficient to force changes in a standard, one realizes that a relatively small group of consumers can force changes that a large majority don't want or need. That is a ridiculous situation. It makes no economic sense. That doesn't mean we shouldn't listen to those users. I'm merely suggesting that they not have inordinate power to change the standard against the will of the majority of the consumers of that standard. Well, that should keep the flames going! :-) Bill Leonard Harris Computer Systems Division 2101 W. Cypress Creek Road Fort Lauderdale, FL 33309 bill@ssd.csd.harris.com --------------------------------------------------------------------------- He that does not remember the past is doomed to forget where he parked. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------