OASIS DocBook TC2

Re: [docbook-tc] Draft Kavi message

  • 1.  Re: [docbook-tc] Draft Kavi message

    Posted 02-13-2004 20:26
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    Subject: Re: [docbook-tc] Draft Kavi message


    Hi Norm,
    
    I wholeheartedly agree, and approve "signing" my name to this document.
    
    Best regards,
    
    --Scott
    
    Norman Walsh wrote:
    
    >At the last meeting, I took an action to draft our committee response
    >to OASIS about the state of Kavi. Here it is. (Bob, please make sure
    >we have an item on the agenda for discussing this.)
    >
    >The DocBook Technical Committee would like to express its continued
    >frustration with the document management part of the Kavi system
    >implemented at OASIS. We find the system to be technically inadequate
    >at best and flatly broken at worst. Beyond the technical issues, we
    >are concerned that it is an awkward, difficult to use system and
    >consequently we fear that it may be driving users away from OASIS.
    >This is not only bad for our committee, it is bad for the consortium
    >as a whole.
    >
    >It is our unanimous opinion that the Kavi system as currently
    >implemented has critical flaws, and that it is imperative that they be
    >corrected. We are aware that some of these issues have been brought to
    >your attention before by individuals, but we would like to reiterate
    >them here as part of our committee position.
    >
    >We draw your attention to the following technical issues.
    >
    >1. The document repository is simply broken. Although chairs and
    >   secretaries can organize documents into a hierarchy, this hierarchy
    >   is not exposed to the general public. This frustrates any attempt
    >   that the committee might make to organize the documents for the
    >   public.
    >
    >2. The Kavi system forces documents to have automatically generated
    >   URIs that are meaningless and difficult to remember. Even if we
    >   were able to accept the URIs generated, it is impossible to predict
    >   the URI that will be assigned to a document when it is placed in
    >   the repository. This makes it impossible for the committee to
    >   decide offline, for example at a face-to-face meeting, where and
    >   how documents will be published.
    >
    >3. Another consequence of the fact that URIs are generated by the
    >   system rather than assigned by the committee with responsibility
    >   for the material is that it is impossible to publish specifications
    >   that contain internal cross references. An HTML version of a
    >   specification, for example, cannot contain a link to the PDF
    >   version.
    >
    >4. This also makes it impossible to publish a web of documents. A
    >   large document could not be broken into chapters, for example, with
    >   navigational links between the chapters.
    >
    >5. It follows further that the DocBook Committee *cannot* publish the
    >   DocBook DTD on the OASIS site. DocBook is a modular DTD and the
    >   URIs of the modules must be predictable. In fact, as a general
    >   rule, it would seem that no Technical Committee can publish any
    >   schema, stylesheet, or other work product of any reasonable
    >   complexity on the OASIS site other than as a zip package or
    >   something similar for the user to download and install locally.
    >
    >6. The OASIS email system is unable to deal with properly formatted
    >   MIME messages. It simply discards their contents and forwards a blank
    >   message to the list. This is causing considerable frustration and wasted
    >   effort. We observe also that several individuals have approached the
    >   committee to express frustration with the mailing list software.
    >   This situation is inhibiting communications within OASIS TCs thereby
    >   slowing down work by its members.
    >
    >7. The design of the OASIS web server is insufficient for the needs of
    >   the DocBook Technical Committee. Before the migration to Kavi, the
    >   DocBook TC maintained an area of web space on the server containing
    >   almost 4,000 individual pages. No member of the public can be
    >   expected to navigate a web space of that size without some
    >   navigation system for the pages that are in the space, but the Kavi
    >   design offers no mechanism for such an information architecture.
    >
    >8. It is also simply impractical to maintain a system of that size
    >   through a system that uses web forms as its user interface
    >   paradigm.
    >
    >In addition to solving these technical issues, we feel that OASIS
    >should give serious consideration to the overall design of the site.
    >
    >We are concerned that the current design frustrates users ability to
    >quickly and conveniently find the information that they need. (Try,
    >for example, to find XML Catalogs Committee Specification or the
    >minutes of the second UBL meeting)
    >
    >This frustration, we fear, will make them less likely to return to the
    >OASIS site thereby deprecating the organizations important role in the
    >industry. Several TC members have already noticed this effect on
    >themselves or others in their organizations.
    >
    >We recognize that technical committees have many different needs. Kavi
    >provides facilities for electronic balloting, membership maintenance,
    >and meeting scheduling that are valuable. But it is demonstrably
    >inadequate in some very key ways: in the presentation of committee
    >work products, in the publication of schemas and other ancillary
    >materials, in the design and organization of technical committee web
    >sites, and in its inability to provide reasonable looking public URIs.
    >
    >We close with the simple observation that these issues, both the
    >technical and non-technical, are driving committees to establish
    >entirely independent web sites in order to better serve their user
    >communities. It would seem clear that OASIS must re-prioritize some
    >staff duties and ensure that immediate, dramatic action is taken if it
    >wishes to reverse this trend.
    >
    >Signed,
    >
    >The DocBook Technical Committee
    >
    ><list of committee members>
    >
    >                                        Be seeing you,
    >                                          norm
    >
    >  
    >
    
    
    -- 
    ================================================================
    Scott Hudson                    Content Architect         
    Sun Microsystems, Inc.          Intellectual Capital Engineering       
    500 Eldorado Blvd.              Phone:(303) 272-7661
    MS:UBRM06-257, Office: B086           x77661
    Broomfield, CO 80021            FAX:  (303) 272-7069
    
    Knowledge is power. Sharing is empowerment.
    http://sunsolve.Sun.COM/handbook_pub/
    
    


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