I am amazed

Well, the whole discussion about why IAMCP decided to sue SIS is over. At least according to the press release that their chairman, the erstwhile illustrious mr Berti sent me earlier today. (It has been covered at least in Computer Sweden) It’s because of what happened with the OOXML vote. Color me a completely unsurprised shade of pink.

There has been some private conversation between myself and Valentino Berti as well. I won’t go into any detail on that, suffice to say that it’s reached a point where I am truly amazed. Now, in the interest of full disclosure  – and because some of you will find this amazingly amusing – I will tell you that I happen to work for an IAMCP member. Wow. How intensely funny is THAT.

To the matter at hand however. This whole story is bullshit from start to finish. The process that SIS used was subverted. It was subverted by members of the swedish chapter of IAMCP. Period. In this case IAMCP is sitting on two chairs and that just ends up with ass-on-floor. And if you are really curious about who participated and when they joined this this wonderful little resource should help you straighten things out. National Archive and Royal Library against. I’d really like to know why. Really really.

But anyway.

Let me be perfectly clear: I don’t care if it had been partners of IBM/Google/Procter & Gamble who had done this. It would be WRONG either way. The people who had been working within the process didn’t get a chance to have their voices heard, they were – for all intents and purposes – shouted down by new arrivals. If I were on the board of SIS I would do EXACTLY the same thing. Their choice was either to invalidate the entire process, basically saying that ISO standards are completely and utterly buyable, or to actually put their foot down and invalidate the vote, thereby removing Sweden from the equation. If it had been a nay-vote that got nipped in the bud, would IAMCP have been as keen on litigation? I think not.

In my opinion the legal action against SIS by IAMCP is nothing but scare tactics. Instead of letting the dust settle and actively participating in a process to change the way SIS works in a way that ensures that the people who end up voting have actually participated in the work, they took a completely different route. As a matter of principle apparently. Where they are complaning about how market forces are able to subvert the SIS process. Which is just hysterical. When are the market forces ok as an influencing factor? Only when you win? This is not OK. And I must say that with friends like the IAMCP, Microsoft really doesn’t need enemies.

Now, you may think that this is a one eyed view of the world. And that is your prerogative. If you seriously think that IAMCP is suing SIS over $2 500 dollars and an excuse I think that you probably might be interested in some real estate on Neptune, beautiful vistas and so on. Never mind the poisonous fumes.