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I have a deep-seated distrust of any "official" standard. I was a
member of an ANSI committee in the mid-80s that was creating standards
for testing a consumer item (_not_ for my current employer). I learned
these things:
1. Industry standards exist to protect the bigger players from
lawyers.
2. Standards equal stagnation. They tend to stifle innovation
because companies will not risk noncompliance just to design
better products.
3. Everyone loves standards (except me). When you have a standard,
you need not think about the products or services you design or
purchase.
Admittedly, there are big difference between language standards and
test standards for consumer products. But, there are also enough
similarities to make me nervous.
-Kevin Montgomery, San Diego, kmontgomery -at- logicon -dot- com
Consistency is the last refuge of the unimaginative.
-Oscar Wilde
