Roy Schestowitz wrote:
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20 August 2008 (Microsoft corrupts the ISO)
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| Microsoft consummated its corruption of the International Standards
| Organization, which dismissed an appeal by several countries against the
| approval of OOXML.
|
| However, I think the EU's criminal investigation of this corruption is still
| live. (Is it?)
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http://www.stallman.org/archives/2008-may-aug.html#20%20August%202008%20%28Microsoft%20corrupts%20the%20ISO%29
"Microsoft corrupted many members of ISO in order to win approval for its
phony ‘open’ document format, OOXML. This was so governments that keep their
documents in a Microsoft-only format can pretend that they are using ‘open
standards.’ The government of South Africa has filed an appeal against the
decision, citing the irregularities in the process."
--Richard Stallman, June 2008
I realize that this is not meant to be a political forum, but I have a
question about the information above.
Does Microsoft's corruption of the International Standards Organization
mean that Microsoft is the
evil-doer, or that it just took a little money to buy off the folks who
comprise the ISO?
What I'm implying is that Microsoft did not corrupt the ISO. Rather, it
just pandered to the innate
desire for money or favors that already existed in the hearts and minds
of the ISO members.
I'm not slamming the ISO, or GNU/Linux, or Microsoft. I'm just looking
at it from a different angle.
Is the purpose of the ISO to make edicts about what the standards are,
or just to record the standards
that are in common use?
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