If you don't think that establishing standards is
complicated and "a big deal" you're in for a rude shock, I'm
afraid. For fuzzy, and not all that public-spirited,
reasons, the establishment of data standards in the world in
which I work (Natural Science Collections), is a bear. And
though various standards may be inter-operable, that doesn't
solve some of the sticky questions that arise in the
provision of data, whether text or images (witness the
current GIF hulabaloo) on the NET.
Eric Siegel
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