Bonum Certa Men Certa

The OOXML Fiasco: Updates from 3 Countries That Protested

ISO Sold Out to ECMA



Here are some of the latest developments in the OOXML saga. These are minor developments, but nonetheless, they are noteworthy.

United Kingdom



Below you can find some concrete proof of the deficiencies of the legal system. Only those who can afford to pursue justice will ever actually see it. On the face of it, financial constraints may stand in a way of unmasking the dodgy process carried out by the BSI.

"The decision to publish or not ISO/IEC DIS 29500 as an ISO/IEC International Standard cannot be taken until the outcome of the appeals is known," said an ISO statement on Thursday. 29500 refers to Microsoft's standard.

Williams said there was still a case for the UKUUG's appeal on the grounds that there had been "procedural irregularities" in the BSI's decision to back OOXML. The BSI had supported the Microsoft standard after clearing a consensus vote in its favour among members. The UKUUG told the court there had been no consensus because one member, IBM's Ian Larner, had abstained after long opposition to OOXML's ratification.


For some information about what the BSI did, see:



Based on sources of ours, Alex Brown too was involved in the BSI this time around. Alex Brown [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21] is meanwhile planning to deliver the his truth on this subject, so he rightly gets criticised early on.

Your description seems to imply that somehow you, unlike others, can deliver the truth. In all fairness you should recognize that whatever you say is your own view and is subject to the same level of questioning as what anybody else says. You don't own the truth more than anybody else and what is considered information by one can be seen as misinformation by others.

For example, you've generated your own share of misinformation with your claims about ODF compliance that are disputed by Rob Weir.


This talk is due to take place in the UK. What story will he tell? We have seen many times before how Microsoft rewrites history (whitewashing) to bury its embarrassing stories of sheer corruption. The ISO, unsurprisingly, just follows this herd.

South Africa



South Africa was one of the nations that appealed against ISO's decision. There will soon be an XML workshop over there. Here are the names of those who will attend.

Participants will include representatives from government, universities, research organisations and the private sector. The South African Burea of Standards, which lodged the first official appeal against the ISO process to make Microsoft’s OOXML an international standard, will also be participating.

Microsoft South Africa, IBM, Sun Microsystems and the Meraka Institute are sponsors of the event and entry to all the workshop and tutorial sessions will be free to the public.

Patrick Durusau is the editor of OpenDocument Format (ODF) 1.2 at OASIS, while Rob Weir is the co-chair of the OASIS ODF Technical Committe. Steve Pepper is represented Norway on ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 34, the ISO subcommittee for document description languages, since 1995, and convened the Topic Maps Working Group since it was founded.


There may be some more information in this article.

India



The other day we mentioned very briefly the departure of Microsoft's managing director in India. Possible reasons for this are finally approaching the surface.

Neelam Dhawan, Managing Director of Microsoft India, will leave the company as of 30 June. Some media sources cite the Indian ooxml debacle as a reason.

[...]

In relation to the failure of Microsoft India to get a positive vote outcome Neelam Dhawan's bail out casts a negative light on the company. If standard setting gets performance based and a standard is not let through due to its technical merits but the fear of managing staff to lose its position it comes at no surprise that the management will fight with all means for the adoption of suboptimal solutions. Microsoft India even filed a complaint against the standard body No vote that caused the outrage.


For detailed information about what happened in India, see the links at the bottom. Here is a photo from a protest which this series of scandals from Microsoft India eventually led to.

OOXML protests in India
From the Campaign for Document Freedom



Related readings:

Recent Techrights' Posts

If You're Against War, Why Would You Pay IBM Red Hat?
Red Hat's largest clients aren't geeks; they're militaries
Uplifting Mood in Manchester
Looking behind - and ahead - after a day of relaxation
SLAPP Censorship - Part 51 Out of 200: On Perjury and What It Means to Take Third-Party Funding to Attack Reporter and His Family (in Another Continent)
threats of prison sent to my wife
The Corrupt Lecture the Non-Corrupt - Part I - EPO Management Talks About "Ethics" While Cocaine Users Run the Office
Let's start with the basics
EPO Cocainegate Escalates - Part I - Cocaine Abuse in Family of Campinos (President’s Office)
at the EPO's management you can do illegal drugs and still represent Europe's second-largest institution
Gemini Links 19/04/2026: Big Brother and the Telescreen, Syncing Gemini Capsule With a Makefile
Links for the day
Links 19/04/2026: Introducing “Fighting Fascism” Podcast and Kyiv Mass Shooting
Links for the day
Links 19/04/2026: Mass Layoffs at GAFAM Again (10% Laid Off), Azure Capacity Problems (Enshittification)
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Saturday, April 18, 2026
IRC logs for Saturday, April 18, 2026
GAFAM Decided to Stop 'Old' Formats From Working, Format-Shifting Treadmills Resemble the Certificate Cartel Keeping Everybody Forever Chasing Rotations
Lots of extra chores because those who control the browsers decided that "too much choice" is bad, so they'll break "old" sites and make multimedia that's "old" not work anymore (not playable)
Nothing But Vapourware Since XBox Leadership Ousted and Mass Layoffs Will Come Soon
We just don't know the exact date/s... yet
Gemini Links 18/04/2026: Guix and WikiReader
Links for the day
Network Maintenance Next Friday
We must be doing a terrific job so far given how much money gets spent trying to silence us
"The Work-to-rule is Having Effect" at the European Patent Office (EPO)
The media knows how to contact SUEPO, but it's clearly not doing it
Improving the Sites, Not Bloating Them
Sites need to evolve over time. Many conflate evolution with bloat (as if more complexity is desirable).
SLAPP Censorship - Part 50 Out of 200: The Time Staff of Law Firm Burgess Mee Was Showing Up in Letters Sent for a Serial Strangler From Microsoft
Family-friendly? No.
Next Week the Star of the "EPO Reality TV Show" Will Likely be Absent (Absconding the Tough Reality of Widespread Unrest)
He tarnishes the legacy of that surname and the country's image by spouting out lies and hurling abusive insults (lots of the "f word") at staff
What EPO Staff, the Staff Union of the European Patent Office (SUEPO), and Europe Want and Need
Who should be served by patents?
Speculations That IBM's CEO is on His Way Out
IBM has mass layoffs, but the media is not covering this [...] IBM is a company in the loo, a firm in a state of rapid disintegration
Slopwatch Was Deprecated, It's Not Coming Back
LLMs that produce many words very fast (and waste a lot of energy in the process) cannot compete with authentic news sites
WELCOME to The Cyber|Show @ Geminispace!
Andy set things up this past week
Links 18/04/2026: Microsoft's PR Department (Waggener Edstrom) and CEO's Wife Buys NPR (BillPR, Now BallmerPR) as Independent/Public Service Media Dims Down
Links for the day
Gemini Links 18/04/2026: Chronic Pain and CodingFont Game
Links for the day
Links 17/04/2026: "I Hate the Internet" and Fake Wallet in Apple App Store
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Friday, April 17, 2026
IRC logs for Friday, April 17, 2026
European Patent Office (EPO) Strikes and Other Industrial Actions Are Working: Patent Application Grants Have Collapsed
Even before the strikes happened any day of the week
SLAPP Censorship - Part 49 Out of 200: Two Americans, One Case, Recycled for Low Budget at Brett Wilson LLP and 5RB Barristers
Change one character, bill the client tens or hundreds of thousands of US dollars
Pension Contribution Increases as Another Attack on Compensation for EPO Staff (Mostly Patent Examiners)
Pension contribution increases!
Almost 1,000 IBM Layoffs Not Newsworthy (Nobody Covers It), Unlike When Snap Does It and Mentions a Celebrated - or Reviled - Buzzword
not a word regarding IBM layoffs
Behind the Scenes With Richard Stallman
If you support his ideas, even if you dislike him as a person, then you'll welcome his ability to speak about those ideas
Gemini Links 17/04/2026: "Many Problems and Inequities in the Legal System", "No Place to Hide"
Links for the day
Links 17/04/2026: SRA Breaks Its Own Rules as Solicitor Attempts Suicide, IPv6 Barely Hits 50% After 20+ Years
Links for the day
ActBlue former IT boss disappearance: Decklin Foster & Debian, Harvard suicide lab, Chris Gleason is wife, whistleblower or both?
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Gemini Links 17/04/2026: Getting competent in NixOS and Alhena 5.5.6 Released
Links for the day
Links 17/04/2026: "We Cannot Lose Sight of Ukraine" and "When Leaders Should Resign"
Links for the day
GizChina Appears to Have Become a Slopfarm, I.e. Fake News Site With Fake Text
Don't waste a moment reading LLM slop, as at the very least it rewards plagiarism [...] Deemed to be slop also by two human beings, not just two scanners
Massive, Cross-Site Strike at the EPO Today
There's coordination across sites for maximal pressure
Dr. Andy Farnell Says "AI" is "Only a Marketing Term" for Things That Exist for "Entertainment Purposes Only"
distortion or misuse of the term (now buzzword/s) "AI"
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Thursday, April 16, 2026
IRC logs for Thursday, April 16, 2026