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| Sweden's SIS Declares OOXML Vote Invalid - Will Change Vote from Yes to Abstain - Updated |
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Thursday, August 30 2007 @ 03:51 PM EDT
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SIS, the standards body in Sweden, has declared its vote on OOXML invalid. There is no time to start over, so Sweden will abstain. We don't have it translated for you yet, but a reader informs me of the gist. We'll do the rest as soon as we can. Here is the SIS statement [PDF], for those who can read it already and may wish to help tell the rest of us the details. Here is one translation online: The Swedish working group of SiS, Swedish Standards Institute, Document description languages, SIS/TK 321/AG 17, decided on 27 August 2007 at a vote to vote for making Office Open XML an ISO standard. Today the board of SiS decided to invalidate the vote.
The motive of the decision of the board is that SiS has information suggesting that one of the members in the working group has participated in the vote with more than one vote. [...] The media in Sweden is beginning to report it now. Here's IDG.se coverage, also in Swedish. I am told that the issue was someone voting twice. I've written to SIS for clarification. That isn't the big story though, to me. The real story is countries that voted No with Comments in the public process that are being pressured behind closed doors, sometimes successfully, to change the vote. Keep your eye on France and the Czech Republic, folks.
More media coverage: - IT Business Edge: Meantime, the managing director for the ODF Alliance notes that Microsoft’s work may backfire. As he told Computerworld:
"Some of the comments that have been received from the countries… shine a light on OOXML defects. Governments will think long and hard after viewing some of these comments before using the format."
- Eric Lai, ComputerWorld: Microsoft Corp. admitted Wednesday that an employee at its Swedish subsidiary offered monetary compensation to partners for voting in favor of the Office Open XML document format's approval as an ISO standard.
Microsoft said the offer, when discovered, was quickly retracted and that its Sweden managers voluntarily notified the SIS, the national standards body.
"We had a situation where an employee sent a communication via e-mail that was inconsistent with our corporate policy," said Tom Robertson, general manager for interoperability and standards at Microsoft. "That communication had no impact on the final vote." ...
In a blog post late Wednesday night, Jason Matusow, Microsoft's senior director for intellectual property and interoperability, acknowledged that Microsoft had contacted business partners to support Open XML, though he stopped short of a full apology for that action.
"It is critical to note that the addition of voting members at that time was completely within the rules of the national standards body," he wrote. "While there are many arguments to be had over the relative merits of this rule ... it is a rule nonetheless."
Apparently SIS disagrees. Update: Groklaw member ingvar has translated the article about the SIS decision for us and here is the meat of it: Tearing up the decision.
"One of the organisations that took part has
voted twice", says Lars Flink, CEO for SIS, to CS. The standards
organisation SIS invalidates the earlier vote where Microsoft's
document format Open XML was voted through.
The reason is, however, not the harsh criticism that has been presented
against the decision, but a mere formality. According to SIS the rules
have not been adhered to during the recent vote.
It has been demonstrated that one of the organisations that voted did
so with two votes. Since the rules for the voting have not been
followed, the earlier decision is invalid, says Lars Flink, CEO for
SIS to CS.
The result is that the vote will have to be re-done, and this could be
hard, since it must be done before September 2nd. In may result in
Sweden abstaining from voting....
That there were a lot turning up for the vote is not formally a
problem. It is open for everyone to participate, he continues.
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| Authored by: entre on Thursday, August 30 2007 @ 04:07 PM EDT |
| For PJ [ Reply to This | # ]
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| Authored by: Aladdin Sane on Thursday, August 30 2007 @ 04:15 PM EDT |
| Please place OT comments here.
Thanks.
(Sorry, Itchytweed, you were
not loggen in when you posted.)
---
Free minds, Free software [ Reply to This | # ]
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| Authored by: Aladdin Sane on Thursday, August 30 2007 @ 04:17 PM EDT |
| Talk about News Picks here.
Reminder: Please place the title of the News
Pick in your comment title so we can know to what you are
referring.
Thanks!
---
Free minds, Free software [ Reply to This | # ]
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| Authored by: Anonymous on Thursday, August 30 2007 @ 04:17 PM EDT |
As much as I and a whole lot more would like to see Sweden vote no, because of
the documented "indiscretions" , this is their proper response.
What will be interesting to see is that now that there is supporting
documentation with M$'s fingerprints all over it, despite their
"spinmeistering" that an individual did the deed on his own, how many
of the other governments are going to dive in and check for the same rigging?
This duck is walking and quacking like a duck.
Now to wait and see.
-- Itchytweed
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| Authored by: PeterMan on Thursday, August 30 2007 @ 04:25 PM EDT |
| "We had a situation where an employee sent a communication via e-mail that
was inconsistent with our corporate policy," said Tom Robertson, general manager
for interoperability and standards at Microsoft. "That communication had no
impact on the final vote."
Sure! Hahahahahaha. *In*consistent with our
corporate policy the good fellow says. Sure. A lone MS employee went astray.
Yep.
What did MS's Ronald Alepin exactly testify in Comes vs MS? Embrace, Extend, Extinguish. How is this
e-mail in sweden inconsistent?
There used to be a time when such spin from a
MS representative made my blood boil, no, plasma-fy instantly.
Not anymore. I
mean, this attempt at damage control is just pathetic. The sudden rush to ISO
TC's in other countries of MS partners was just a coincidence, I'm sure.
[ Reply to This | # ]
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| Authored by: Anonymous on Thursday, August 30 2007 @ 04:27 PM EDT |
In Germany, the conservative. usually very pro-Microsoft orieted IDG
IT-newspaper "Computerwoche", which addresses mainly IT decision
makers and senior management, reports, that MS is "manipulating the ISO
voting process regarding OOXML".
They report that they were also contacted by MS reperentatives immediately after
their first report re this topic. MS wanted to "clarify" the issue.
More here:
http://www.computerwoche.de/nachrichten/522537/
This issue will become MS worst legal nightmare. The issue wqas also reported in
WallStreet Journal Europe. So not only a legal but also a PR desaster.
[ Reply to This | # ]
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| Authored by: Anonymous on Thursday, August 30 2007 @ 04:27 PM EDT |
I wonder if that should have read:
"Microsoft said the offer, when discovered by others, was quickly
retracted"[ Reply to This | # ]
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| Authored by: overshoot on Thursday, August 30 2007 @ 04:28 PM EDT |
Count this one as a TKO -- they managed to convert a solid "no" to an "abstain"
at minimal cost, and it weren't for those pesky kids they would have had a
"yes."[ Reply to This | # ]
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| Authored by: Wardo on Thursday, August 30 2007 @ 04:46 PM EDT |
So, when presented with a number of players, all of whom will be responding yes,
no or abstain. How best do you remove the probable no votes to gain the biggest
percentage of yes votes in the final pool, since abstain votes reduce the
denominator.
Answer: co-opt as many members as possible, to convert a potential no vote into
a yes vote. If discovered, it's still good because it will likely become an
abstain vote, thus preserving your remaining yes votes while reducing the
denominator required to determine majority...
Win-Win situation for MS? Or am I not thinking this through?
Wardo
---
caveat lector...
Wardo = new user(lawyer = FALSE,badTypist = TRUE,badSpeller = TRUE);[ Reply to This | # ]
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- Game theory - Authored by: tknarr on Thursday, August 30 2007 @ 04:55 PM EDT
- Game theory - Authored by: Anonymous on Friday, August 31 2007 @ 06:22 PM EDT
- Game theory - Authored by: skip on Friday, August 31 2007 @ 04:13 AM EDT
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| Authored by: Anonymous on Thursday, August 30 2007 @ 04:53 PM EDT |
Rather, it is a typical case.
In Hungary, the Minister of Economy and Transport had to instruct the General
Director of Hungarian Standards Institution to restart the voting due to ballot
stuffing practices, changing the rules on the fly, excluding no voters, etc.
Check out this:
http://www.noooxml.org/forum/t-18042/hungarian-standards-institution-to-reconsid
er-its-vote
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- Clicky - Authored by: tyche on Thursday, August 30 2007 @ 06:09 PM EDT
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| Authored by: Aladdin Sane on Thursday, August 30 2007 @ 05:12 PM EDT |
The Computerworld story by Eric Lai quoted in PJ's article also has this
paragraph:
Microsoft sees Open XML's certification as an open
standard as key to maintaining its dominance of the office productivity software
market over upstarts such as OpenOffice.org.
...open
standard...key to maintaining its dominance...
I felt ill, and could not
finish reading the story.
---
Free minds, Free software [ Reply to This | # ]
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| Authored by: Anonymous on Thursday, August 30 2007 @ 05:24 PM EDT |
Here comes a poor translation of the official SIS
statement :-) //Frolle
Office Open XML - SIS disqualify voting.
The Swedish team at SIS, Swedish Standards
Institute, "Document description language SIS/TK 321/AG17,
decided at August 27:th at a voting to say "yes" to make
Office Open XML in to a ISO-standard. Today the steering
comity decided to disqualify the voting.
The motive to the boards decision is that SIS has
information that claims that one of the participants in
the working team voted more then once. This is against the
SIS rules that says that only one vote per project
financier. So the decision was taken ONLY because of the
SIS rules. The decision does not change the standpoint in
this matter.
Furthermore the board thinks it will be possible to make a
new votation in the Swedish work team before the 2:nd of
September 2007 when the global voting will be finished. If
a new votation is not possible to carry out, then Sweden
will not vote in the global votation.
Background:
The proposal that Sweden has taken a stand point briefly
described is to define document format for word
processing, presentation and calculation. The background
of Office Open XML is the need of store electronic
documents over a long time and make it possible to migrate
files between different applications. Somewhere like 100
member countries in ISO has the possibility to participate
in the votation. ISO-votation will be finished at the 2:nd
of September 2007.
SIS is a free standing non-profit association where the
members needs an wishes controlles the direction of the
standardization work. Members comes from companies,
organization and public authorities
For future information:
Lars Flink, VD SIS, tel 08-555 520 11, 070-5374186,
lars.flink@sis.se
SIS is a part od the European and global network that sets
international standards. By participating in the
standardization work Swedish companies and organizations
can influence the design of standards in their market.
Standards promotes trading over borders and contributes to
safer processes and products.
SIS is a non-profit association with members from both
private and public sector. SIS had a turn over of 193MSEK
at 2006 and 163 employees. SIS is acting withing, and are
a member of the international standardization
organizations CEN (European) and ISO (globally).
[ Reply to This | # ]
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| Authored by: SpaceLifeForm on Thursday, August 30 2007 @ 06:32 PM EDT |
"We had a situation where an employee sent a communication via
e-mail that was inconsistent with our corporate policy," said Tom Robertson,
general manager for interoperability and standards at Microsoft. "That
communication had no impact on the final vote."
...
Translation:
If you're going to bribe someone via
e-mail, be cryptic about it.
Even though we allegedly rescinded the bribe
offer,
the targets of our bribes still got the message.
---
You are being MICROattacked, from various angles, in a SOFT manner. [ Reply to This | # ]
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| Authored by: Anonymous on Thursday, August 30 2007 @ 08:08 PM EDT |
Since Microsoft claims that this vote-buying email was sent by a rouge employee
in Sweden, counter to Microsoft policy, it must then follow that Microsoft will
not honor the promise of compensatory (marketing) support. To do so would negate
their denial of complicity, wouldn't it?
[ Reply to This | # ]
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| Authored by: Anonymous on Thursday, August 30 2007 @ 09:17 PM EDT |
| It's apparently not just Sweden's vote that's been manipulated. IDG.se reports that the voting in other
countries has been "chaotic".
Translating a few snippets:
"In Portugal,
Rui Seabra that attended the meeting claims that Sun and IBM was denied to vote
because the meeting room only had room for 20 people. When Sun and IBM arrived
the room already had 24 people and although there were still empty seats, they
were denied to vote. According to notes from the meeting
by Rui Seabra."
"From Germany it's reported that Google and Deutsche Telekom
was granted access to the meeting, but was denied to vote because they arrived
to late and therefore were not fully informed about what the meeting was about.
According to news service Heise."
"In Italy,
the vote took place July 13. Everyone that was a member by July 8 had a right to
vote. July 7, the group consisted of IBM, Microsoft, CEDEO, OpenOffice.org in
Italy and HP, but on the 8th of July, another 78 companies and organizations had
joined the group. This according to an Italian attendee's blog."
[ Reply to This | # ]
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| Authored by: Anonymous on Friday, August 31 2007 @ 12:15 AM EDT |
I am no expert in EU-law (although I have done some university unit of it), but
the EU-treaty provides as below. I think you will find if you read the doctrine
that this section has "direct effect" in the EU member countries and
is valid as directly applicable law.
On it's face it looks like SIS should have declared only the Microsoft partner
companies votes invalid based on Article 81 in the treaty (which again, you may
find has special status as directly applicable law in the member countries as
opposed to "normal treaties").
Article 81
1. The following shall be prohibited as incompatible with the common market:
all agreements between undertakings, decisions by associations of undertakings
and concerted practices which may affect trade between Member States and which
have as their object or effect the prevention, restriction or distortion of
competition within the common market, and in particular those which [...]
2. Any agreements or decisions prohibited pursuant to this article shall be
automatically void.
[...]
See http://eur-lex.europa.eu/en/treaties/dat/12002E/htm/C_2002325EN.003301.html[ Reply to This | # ]
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| Authored by: Anonymous on Friday, August 31 2007 @ 08:07 AM EDT |
Gives me the suspicion that Sweden was a setup. Plausible deniability for
their other infractions and techniques, smoke screen. Spread and admit to a
little smoke and deny it is making any impact in order to hide the fire.[ Reply to This | # ]
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| Authored by: ingvar on Friday, August 31 2007 @ 02:05 PM EDT |
I forgot to add it to the translation and it is probably not entirely obvious
for non-Swedes. The "CS" referred to is with a probability bordering
on certainty a trade rag named "Computer Sweden".[ Reply to This | # ]
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