[vernier: SIF]

[Bruno Vernier <vernier@vc.bc.ca>]

This is the letter I sent to Misty Software's contact for SIF.  Thanks Tim.

----- Forwarded message from Bruno Vernier <vernier> -----

Date: Wed, 17 Mar 1999
From: Bruno Vernier <vernier>
To: mgoehring@mistycity.com

Hello,

I received a message from Tim Wilson, who received a message from the 
president of Misty Software who gave your email as contact person for Misty 
Software's participation in the SIF working groups.

I belong to the seul-edu@seul.org mailing list which is working on K12 
educational software for Linux (archived at www.seul.org/edu). The focus is 
on open source software and interoperability with all educational (incl. 
commercial) software is on our agenda.

My particular contribution has been to work on an XML DTD called EDUML which 
pretty  well covers the same territory as SIF (the existence of which I was 
made aware of by Tim Wilson via Misty Software yesterday)

The current state of EDUML is archived at cran.seul.edi/~vernier/eduml

So now, I am contacting you because I believe we can help each other out.

I have not figured out whether SIF is a genuine serious effort to solve the 
data redundancy problem or if it is another microsoft marketing game only. I 
understand the non-microsoft members of SIF have been pushing for a genuine 
open standard ... what is your take on this issue? Please note: I do know 
there are people working for Microsoft who are sincerely and genuinely 
interested in an open standard. However, I think few dispute the fact that 
the company itself has a rather poor track record on that front.

If SIF is serious, do you think it might make sense for me and maybe some of 
my colleagues on the mailing list to participate in order to benefit from each 
other's work and open each other's horizons.  (In my first review of SIF for 
example, I noted that it was particularly US-centric <county> <state> <zip> 
and at the same time I found a few elements that we can use in EDUML <K12Events>)

At best, we might even become compatible or even merged. At worst, we will 
ignore each other.

>From reading the SIF website, I understand that there is no membership fee 
other than "work" on working groups. Educators involvement is limited to 
filling out a simple marketing questionnaire. I am an educator but I cannot 
contribute seriously or happily with that sort of purely consumer interface. 
We are talking here about an open standard for interoperability and I am 
fearful that the commercial way of thinking dominates completely. Open 
standards (in my book) allow participation by anyone who has something 
serious to contribute... regardless of their background: SIF members should be 
reminded that schools are filled with both commercial software and freeware 
which should all be interoperable.  We could represent the freeware side in 
your Working Groups.

I would be honored to read your feedback to these thoughts.  Thanks,

Bruno
vernier@vc.bc.ca
teacher
Vancouver BC
Canada

----- End forwarded message -----