[SCL] Re: some explanation

[Pat Hayes]

John, I understand the long historical roots, but do not consider 
them to be of paramount importance. Nor do I consider what I have 
been doing with the SCL group as being necessarily a continuation of 
an activity going back to 1991. The world has changed immeasurably 
since 1991, and there are new requirements on a KR notation. To 
continue as though it were 1991 in 2005 is a sure way to become 
obsolete. SCL began in 2003, and with a different mandate. This is 
not a philosophical quibble about identity criteria: it is an 
immediate and pressing issue of how to draft the documents. Given 
Mike G's and my apparently divergent assumptions (between which poor 
Harry has become caught) the basic organization of the documents will 
be different. I am rather unhappy with the way that the material will 
apparently be presented to the ISO; sufficiently so that I am 
seriously wondering if I can continue to be involved with the 
process, or allow it to use material I have written.

Mia culpa for not publicizing things better, I am sure.

This has nothing to do with ISO vs W3C; I see no conflict there. 
Having an XML syntax is not a W3C issue, it is simple common sense in 
today's world. A proposed standard for information interchange 
without an XML syntax has become a dinosaur. But I do see a conflict 
between unspoken assumptions of how we have been proceeding, and 
these apparently will lead to divergences between what Harry and Mike 
will be presenting to the ISO and what I personally am interested in 
getting into a standard. Unlike yourself, I am not working under the 
historical legacy of an ancient ISO activity. Under the 
circumstances, I am having to ask myself if I want to continue to 
adapt myself to (what I perceive to be) the rather limiting 
constraints that this historical legacy seems to be imposing. I think 
we could make CL much more useful to a much larger community if we 
re-thought the aims of the project a little, along the lines of my 
last message; and in fact I believe we have now largely done most of 
the necessary thinking, and even have drafted most of the documents. 
The problem seems, to me, to be that some of us are stuck a few years 
in the past.

Pat
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