Help for the DIS29500 (OOXML) Ballot Resolution Meeting (BRM)

My business partner Alan Bell, came up with a neat idea over the weekend (whilst I was really busy; playing golf and partying with the kids)…

Microsoft has developed an XML based file format designed to replace the binary formats used by old versions of Microsoft Office. This new file format is called Office Open XML or OOXML and is currently going through a process to ratify it as an international standard backed by ISO. The designation for the standard is Draft International Standard 29500, or DIS29500. The fast track process the standard has followed has been very controversial, in the initial round of votes a large number of comments were raised. These comments will be brought to a Ballot Resolution Meeting in Geneva at the end of February 2008. Currently there is an overwhelming number of comments to resolve at a large meeting in a short time. Many comments are duplicates raised several times by different countries, many are quite trivial and could be addressed easily. Some are really interesting and worthy of discussion.

Our company, The Open Learning Centre, is supporting and maintaining this new site on the net at www.dis29500.org where:

The purpose of this website is to help the countries and the facilitators of the BRM to prepare by sorting and categorising and de-duplicating the comments so that they can focus on the issues of substance.

Currently 2978 comments are listed by country and interested parties are encouraged to review and “de-dupe” the list. And to categorise the comments so issues of substance can be given the attention they rightly deserve.

Oh yes, it’s running and supported on open source software.