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Author: Joseph Reagle

Date: 13 November 2002

Audience: Members at Open Spectrum hosted by Harvard Law School

Issue: Introduction to W3C

References:

• Why Join the W3C?

Considering Standards Organizations

Context

• Goal - interoperability, guidelines, research
• Decision Making - meritocracy, voting, consensus
• Certification - statement of compliance
• Funding sources - volunteered, sponsored, funded
• Context - adversarial, good faith
• Intellectual Monopoly Rights - proprietary, RAND, RF

Consequence

• Efficacy/Quality
• Speed
• Adoption
• Legitimacy

World Wide Web Consortium's Mission

"... to lead the Web to its full potential."

W3C's Role: Vision, Design, Standards, Guidelines

Goals and Principles: Accessibility, Meaning, Trust, Interoperability,Evolvability, Decentralization, Cooler Multimedia, Implementable

Developing Standards and Guidelines at W3C (1)

• Big, open table:
  • Close to 500 Members, worldwide
  • Advisory Board, Technical Architecture Group
  • Team = vendor neutral, technical staff
  • Liaisons with 27 standards organizations
  • Hosts, Offices
  • Accountable to the global Public

Developing Standards and Guidelines at W3C (2)

• Strong Process provides governing framework:
  • Toward goals and design principles
  • Web architecture
  • Vendor neutral
  • Coordination and consensus
    • no "rubber stamping"
    • demonstrated record of successful productivity

      47 W3C Recommendations, and growing

• W3C Recommendations should be royalty-free, open

Organization of the World Wide Web Consortium

• Activities (e.g. XML, XSLT, SOAP, CSS, XHTML, etc.).
• Domains (Architecture, Document Formats, Interaction, Technology and Society, Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI))
• Organized into groups:
  • Working Groups: chartered technical development.
  • Interest Groups: more general work.
  • Coordination Groups: manage dependencies between related groups.
• Discussion on mailing lists, teleconferences, and at face-to-face meetings

  (Some fora are member restricted, others are more open).

Starting W3C Activities

• W3C follows the W3C Process Document.
• Possible outcome of the workshop: creation of a new Activity (Activity proposal) and of a Working Group (charter).
• Needed resources: W3M Domain Leader, W3C Team Contact, Chair, Editors, Authors.

Technology development cycle:

• Working Draft -- Intermediate steps
• Last Call Working Draft -- WG thinks its addressed its requirements
• Candidate Recommendation -- Implementation/interop.
• Proposed Recommendation -- referred to W3C Advisory Committee (AC)
• Recommendation -- Recommended by W3C Director.

W3C: The Domains and Activities

The Technology Layering