OOXML standard will tarnish ISO

From what I can read, there were enough irregularities in the process, that ISO should refuse to accept Microsoft's Office Open XML as a standard - but I expect ISO will press right ahead and bless it.

For ZDNet UK, David Meyer checked the web on a miserable Sunday morning, and it looks like enough people announced changes to their votes, to swing it in Microsoft's favour. This is still slightly speculative, but better than an exit poll. Some countries may have changed their votes since the last meeting, and forgotten to mention it, but the consensus amongst OOXML watchers is that Microsoft succeeded.

There are suggestions of vote rigging and dubious procedures in several countries, including Norway, Germany and Croatia, with the gory details on Groklaw. There is other coverage on the excellent Open Malaysia, Command Line Warriors and Andy Updegrove's Standards blog.

There is a definite feeling that these are not the only dubious results - only the ones that have come to light.

Given all that, why do I think ISO will rubber-stamp the unfinished and controversial standard, OOXML? Because that is the way it operates as a body. ISO sits in splendid isolation. Technical issues, vendor lobbying and national politics are externalised into sub-committees, so ISO actually operates at a level where everything is fine.

Any attempt to argue with it moves the discussion automatically onto ISO's procedural territory, where there are plenty of experts to argue that all is well. This is why any attempt to challenge the likely approval of OOXML will have to major on voting irregularities, rather than unresolved technology issues.

The point is that ISO believes in what it does. It works this way, because it is convinced this is the best way to make standards. It will say that it is above grubby controversies, while actually wallowing in a spurious purity which it achieves by ignoring and excluding the real issues.