First Choice
I've been thinking and reading about the IETF and W3C lately. A lot. A brain-dump of my current thinking:
- At Tuesday's breakfast, I was told that a W3C chartered Atom working group this month is not a possibility. Nor is next month a possibility. Perhaps the following month is possible, but there are no guarantees. By contrast, the primary reason why the IESG has not already considered setting up an AtomPub working group is the comments sent to the IESG by Eric Miller of the W3C.
- As far as I can tell, this difference in schedule is not primarily due to a difference in speed or order in which things are done between the two organizations. Instead it is an indication of when each got started. The IETF was first suggested as a home last June, has been the default assumption ever since, and work on a charter started in earnest in February.
- Most of the advantages I have seen put forward for pursuing Atom under the auspices of the W3C apply equally to all recognized standards bodies in general, and to the IETF in specific. Furthermore, I have seen nothing put forward which would lead one to the conclusion that the IETF would be a BAD home.
- I am pleased with the clarity of the W3C RF Licensing Requirements, and the fact that the W3C is actively pursuing Atom is not lost on me. On the other hand, I very much like the fact that the IETF is by design open. I fully realize that a W3C working group can operate in an open manner, but absent a requirement to do so, it leaves the chair open to accusations of bias and reduces the ability of detractors to obtain adequate redress.
There is precedent for a dual IETF/W3C path. If someone can identify both the additional benefits and the additional costs of pursuing the W3C presuming a baseline of an IETF working group; and if leaving the door open for this possibility in July or later doesn't give the IESG heartburn now; I personally am willing to entertain this discussion. In fact, I would be willing to make a substantial commitment of my own time to make this happen.
It is not a question of having to "settle" for one or the other. Despite reservations, I'm sure that all the issues can be worked and either organization would make a fine home for Atom. However, if a choice must be made, and a choice is an option, the IETF was from the beginning, and remains, my first choice.