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Sat, 15 Jul 2000 13:05:00 -0700 |
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Let's focus for a moment on the consumers, rather than the producers,
of "standards". A standard has value to them to the extent that it
helps them create lasting value. That implies it must be complete,
available, at a reasonable cost, and last for a reasonable length of
time. If a "standard" is secret, or costly to find out, it's much
less valuable to standards consumers. If it has great holes that cost
those consumers a lot to fill in, or where they make (different)
guesses, it loses value. Every time the "standard" changes, the
"standards consumers" must do a lot of expensive work to upgrade their
products. A "standard" defined, and modified, by your competitor
based on *his* economic interest, is likely to be much less desirable
than one modified only by consensus of its consumers.
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