Are you surprised? Do you remember this snippet from _le Monde
Informatique_
(<URL:http://lists.w3.org/Archives/Public/w3c-sgml-wg/msg04410.html>)?
<quote>
LMI: Among the protocols that are actually discussed inside the W3C
you find XML, a document description language supported by Microsoft,
among others. Why isn't Netscape participating in these efforts?
MA: "XML"? That sounds really proprietary, doesn't it? [Grin] Don't
forget that the Internet standard is a protocol that has brought forth
a consensus at the heart of institutions like the W3C, the IETF and
even ECMA [?], which is working on JavaScript. The rest is just a
proposal ...
</quote>
The translation from French comes with heavy disclaimers, but the
original French publication had something very close to this
(<URL:http://lists.w3.org/Archives/Public/w3c-sgml-wg/msg04404.html>):
<quote>
M.A.: XML?... Cela sonne trs propritaire, non? (sourire) Ne
perdons pas de vue qu'un standard Internet est un protocole qui a
suscit un consensus au sein d'institutions comme le W3C, l'IETF ou
encore l'ECMA qui travaille sur Javascript. Le reste n'est que
proposition...
</quote>
-Chris
-- <!NOTATION SGML.Geek PUBLIC "-//Anonymous//NOTATION SGML Geek//EN"> <!ENTITY crism PUBLIC "-//O'Reilly//NONSGML Christopher R. Maden//EN" "<URL>http://www.oreilly.com/people/staff/crism/ <TEL>+1.617.499.7487 <USMAIL>90 Sherman Street, Cambridge, MA 02140 USA" NDATA SGML.Geek>