From psmith@mozart.convex.com Fri Mar 20 18:36:08 1992 Received: from convex.convex.com by dkuug.dk via EUnet with SMTP (5.64+/8+bit/IDA-1.2.8) id AA09865; Fri, 20 Mar 92 18:36:08 +0100 Received: from mozart.convex.com by convex.convex.com (5.64/1.35) id AA28591; Fri, 20 Mar 92 11:32:14 -0600 Received: by mozart.convex.com (5.64/1.28) id AA01980; Fri, 20 Mar 92 11:32:10 -0600 Date: Fri, 20 Mar 92 11:32:10 -0600 From: psmith@mozart.convex.com (Presley Smith) Message-Id: <9203201732.AA01980@mozart.convex.com> To: SC22WG5@dkuug.dk, bill@amber.ssd.csd.harris.com Subject: Re: (SC22WG5.83) Re: Procedures comment by Psmith Cc: psmith@mozart.convex.com 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. Bill, it's now 1992, the year of the United Europe. I think since Europe is working toward becoming an economic power and planning to have a common currency, etc. and since the population of North America and Europe will be roughtly equivalent, that we should do away with the individual country votes in Europe. Europe should have 1 vote just as the US has one vote. Maybe we change the system to: 1 vote for North America, 1 vote for South America, 1 vote for Africa, 1 vote for Asia, and 1 vote for Australia and the rest of oceana... That would be a more fair economic distribution of votes.... FYI. Presley