James

UK

Java programmer

Dale,

While I see your line of thinking, I think that (aside from the zealots who scream just because they hear the name Microsoft) the main reason everyone is a bit upset is because OOXML just isn't ready to be a standard, with thousands of raised comments not looked at during the process, some serious irregularities surrounding it's favorable vote and amongst other things there was no reason to fast-track a specification that was more than a few 1000 pages long.

If as you say customers (I assume you meant governments and not businesses at this point because they are the ones who are most discussed as requiring open standards) didn't care about the status of OOXML why fast-track it at all?

Anyway, I could write reams on this subject, many already have, obviously I don't agree that OOXML should be backed, but I'd have been happy to support it had maybe not been for the "four-fifths" of the proposed changes to the draft standard for the OOXML document being waved through, undiscussed at Geneva. That alone means nothing is safe even in the hands of a standards group.

Regards

James