html-ie-faq 12 KB
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<!DOCTYPE html
  PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd">
<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><head><meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8"/><title>Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) about Public Invited Experts in the
  HTML Working Group</title><link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="../../StyleSheets/base.css"/><link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="../../Guide/pubrules-style.css"/><style type="text/css" xml:space="preserve">
  .question p { margin-left: 1em }

  .question h2 { background: #005A9C; color: white; width: 100%; padding: .25em; }

  body { counter-reset: h2; }

  h2:before {
      content: counter(h2) ". ";
      display: inline;
    }

  h2 { counter-increment: h2 }</style></head><body><div class="head">
<p><a shape="rect" href="http://www.w3.org/"><img height="48" width="72" alt="W3C" src="http://www.w3.org/Icons/w3c_home"/></a> | <a href="/html" shape="rect">HTML</a></p>

<h1>Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) about Public Invited Experts in the W3C
HTML Working Group</h1>
</div>

<p>W3C has compiled this list of questions to help public and W3C
Members alike understand the participation of <a
href="/2005/10/Process-20051014/groups.html#invited-expert-wg">Invited
Experts</a> in the <a href="/html/">HTML Working Group</a>. See also
the <a href="/2004/08/invexp.html">W3C policy for approval of
Invited Experts</a>.</p>

<ol id="toclist"><li><a href="#modes">What communications modes are available to W3C Working
Groups?</a></li><li><a href="#privs">Do Invited Experts in the HTML Working Group have Member
access?</a></li><li><a href="#sameproc">Has W3C changed its Process for Invited Experts in the W3C
HTML Working Group?</a></li><li><a href="#exception">Is the W3C HTML Working Group approach to Invited Experts
an exception?</a></li><li><a href="#othergroups">Are other W3C Working Groups now required to follow the
practice of the HTML Working Group?</a></li><li><a href="#naming">If you are not seeking the same level of expertise from
Invited Experts in the HTML Working Group, shouldn't you call them something
else?</a></li><li><a href="#bigig">Did you consider a large public Interest Group for discussion
and a smaller Working Group for specification development (as has been done
for XML, DOM, and other groups)?</a></li><li><a href="#employee">I want to participate as an individual in the HTML Working
Group but I work for a W3C Member. Why can't I join as an Invited Expert?</a></li><li><a href="#membership">How does work in public have an impact on the value of
W3C Membership?</a></li><li><a href="#listname">Why did you create public-html for the new Working Group,
in addition to the existing www-html@w3.org?</a></li></ol><hr/><div class="questions">

<div class="question">
<h2 id="modes">What communications modes are available to W3C Working
Groups?</h2>

<p>A W3C Working Group may conduct its work in public, in "<a href="http://www.w3.org/2005/10/Process-20051014/comm.html#confidentiality-levels" shape="rect">Member space</a>", or both. Access to Member space, one of the
<a href="/Consortium/membership-benefits" shape="rect">benefits of W3C
Membership</a>, is available to any <a href="/Consortium/Member/" shape="rect">W3C Member</a> employee. W3C also grants Member access to some
Invited Experts (i.e., individuals not employed by a W3C Member) as described
below.</p>

<p>A given Working Group, per its charter, may use both modes of
communication. For instance, it may conduct its technical work in public, but
conduct liason or administrative activities in Member space.In general, W3C
Working Groups adopt one of the following communications modes, according to
their needs and culture:</p>
<ol><li>Both group internal communications and liaisons with other groups take
    place primarily in public.</li><li>Both group internal communications and liaisons with other groups take
    place primarily in Member space.</li><li>Group internal communications take place primarily in public, and the
    visibility of liaisons with other groups depends on the communications
    modes of those groups.</li></ol>

<p>The HTML Working Group is the first type of group. Note that W3C does not
currently use the terms "Public Working Group" and "Member Working Group"
because there are at least three communications modes.</p>
</div>

<div class="question">
<h2 id="privs">Do Invited Experts in the HTML Working Group have Member
access?</h2>

<p>No. They all have public access because the HTML Working Group is
chartered to conduct its work entirely in public. W3C uses the
term "Public Invited Expert" to describe the combination of Invited Expert
participation and public access.</p>

<p>Note that, because an <em>individual</em> may participate in <em>more than
one</em> W3C Working Group, that individual may have additional access
privileges due to participation in another group.</p>
</div>

<div class="question">
<h2 id="sameproc">Has W3C changed its Process for Invited Experts in the W3C
HTML Working Group?</h2>

<p>No. Per the <a href="http://www.w3.org/2005/10/Process-20051014/groups.html#invited-expert-wg" shape="rect">W3C Process</a>, the Chair(s) and Staff Contact for a group may
invite "an individual with a particular expertise to participate in a Working
Group."</p>

<p>For any W3C Working Group, the Staff Contact reviews each Invited Expert
application. The criteria applied for the HTML Working Group differ somewhat
than those applied for other W3C Working Groups. Specific technical
expertise, though appreciated, is not an absolute requirement. The Staff
Contact looks closely at the applicant's employment and business
relationships. In particular, if an individual works for a Member
organization, that individual will not be granted Invited Expert status.
Instead, that individual should encourage their employer, a W3C Member, to
join the HTML Working Group. See the <a href="/2004/08/invexp.html" shape="rect">policy for approval of Invited Experts</a> for more information
about criteria used by the W3C Staff when evaluating an Invited Expert
application.</p>

<p>W3C HTML Working Group charter thus encourages wide <a href="http://www.w3.org/2007/03/HTML-WG-charter#participation" shape="rect">participation</a>. Although levels of technical expertise may
vary among the Invited Experts, W3C believes that there are many people with
relevant experience whose may make useful contributions, offer useful
reviews, provide test cases, and connect W3C to diverse communities.</p>
</div>

<div class="question">
<h2 id="exception">Is the W3C HTML Working Group approach to Invited Experts
an exception?</h2>

<p>Yes. While other groups have Public Invited Experts, no other group has,
or encourages, the participation of as many. For this Working Group, W3C
believes that the benefits of engaging a large community in this work is
important to the deployment of the specification, and thus will benefit W3C
as an organization, including all its Members and those who participate as
Invited Experts.</p>

<p>Accordingly, the <a href="/2004/08/invexp#principles" shape="rect">principle</a> that "Public Invited status is not normally
granted to individuals employed by organizations which have significant
business interest in results from W3C" has been relaxed in the case of the
W3C HTML Working Group. </p>
</div>

<div class="question">
<h2 id="othergroups">Are other W3C Working Groups now required to follow the
practice of the HTML Working Group?</h2>

<p>No. Each Working Group has its own local culture, charter, and
participation requirements.</p>
</div>

<div class="question">
<h2 id="naming">If you are not seeking the same level of expertise from
Invited Experts in the HTML Working Group, shouldn't you call them something
else?</h2>

<p>Perhaps. The W3C Staff is considering the implications of using another
term. There would be costs as well as benefits to choosing a new term for a
Group with this set of expectations about participation.</p>
</div>

<div class="question">
<h2 id="bigig">Did you consider a large public Interest Group for discussion
and a smaller Working Group for specification development (as has been done
for XML, DOM, and other groups)?</h2>

<p>Yes, but that organization was not chosen for the March 2007 launch. W3C
might still choose, after 6 to 18 months of experience, to reorganize the
group.</p>
</div>

<div class="question">
<h2 id="employee">I want to participate as an individual in the HTML Working
Group but I work for a W3C Member. Why can't I join as an Invited Expert?</h2>

<p>The primary reason has to do with the <a href="/Consortium/Patent-Policy-20040205/Overview.html" shape="rect">W3C
Patent Policy</a>, which promotes the creation of standards that may be
implemented Royalty-Free. The W3C Patent Policy is most effective when W3C
Members with patent portfolios participate. To participate, they agree to the
<a href="/Consortium/Patent-Policy-20040205/Overview.html#sec-Requirements" shape="rect">Royalty-Free Licensing Requirements</a> of the policy;
individuals are much less likely to hold patents than organizations. The
policy has gained broad support from W3C Members and public alike. Allowing
individual participation by Member employees would undermine the intent of
the policy, in turn eroding confidence in the ability to implement the
standard on a Royalty-Free basis.</p>

<p>For additional information about the W3C Patent Policy, please refer to
the <cite><a href="/2004/02/05-patentsummary.html" shape="rect">Overview and
Summary of W3C Patent Policy</a></cite>, discussion of the <cite><a href="/2004/03/pp-points-20040210.html" shape="rect">Business Benefits of the
W3C Patent Policy</a></cite>, <cite><a href="/2003/12/22-pp-faq" shape="rect">Patent Policy FAQ</a></cite>, and <cite><a href="/2004/01/pp-impl/fact-sheet" shape="rect">Patent Policy Fact
Sheet</a></cite> (which has statistics about the policy in practice).</p>
</div>

<div class="question">
<h2 id="membership">How does work in public have an impact on the value of
W3C Membership?</h2>

<p>It is likely that some organizations view work in public as a disincentive
to join as a Member. However, even that perspective varies depending on the
nature of the work. In the particular case of HTML, there was very
significant support from the W3C Membership to conduct work on HTML in
public. Furthermore, a large, supportive community around HTML increases the
value of the W3C brand, which in turn improves the value proposition in other
W3C Working Groups.</p>
</div>

<div class="question">
<h2 id="listname">Why did you create public-html for the new Working Group,
in addition to the existing www-html@w3.org?</h2>

<p>www-html@w3.org remains active and will serve its original purpose: as a
forum for discussion of HTML. Anyone may join that list.</p>

<p>W3C created a new public list to accompany the new operating mode of the
Working Group under the W3C Patent Policy. It was easier (and less disruptive
to the existing list) to create a new mailing list for discussions of the new
group.</p>
</div>
</div><hr/>

<p>Questions? Write <a href="/People/Jacobs/">Ian Jacobs</a> at
w3t-comm@w3.org. Based on a draft by Dan Connolly.</p>
<p class="copyright"><a href="http://www.w3.org/Consortium/Legal/ipr-notice-20000612#Copyright" shape="rect">Copyright</a> © 2007 <a href="http://www.w3.org/" shape="rect">W3C</a> <sup>®</sup> (<a shape="rect" href="http://www.csail.mit.edu/">MIT</a>, <a href="http://www.ercim.org/" shape="rect">ERCIM</a>, <a href="http://www.keio.ac.jp/" shape="rect">Keio</a>), All Rights Reserved. W3C <a shape="rect" href="http://www.w3.org/Consortium/Legal/ipr-notice-20000612#Legal_Disclaimer">liability</a>,
<a href="http://www.w3.org/Consortium/Legal/ipr-notice-20000612#W3C_Trademarks" shape="rect">trademark</a>, <a href="http://www.w3.org/Consortium/Legal/copyright-documents-19990405" shape="rect">document use</a>, and <a href="http://www.w3.org/Consortium/Legal/copyright-software-19980720" shape="rect">software licensing</a> rules apply.</p><p>Last modified: $Date: 2007/04/23 19:00:20 $ by $Author: ijacobs $.</p></body></html>