Standards are essential in creating uniform behaviors while coalescing efforts to achieve a desired results around a proposed idea. To play nice and just work is the aim of most standards. The web was built on standards and thrives because of that fact. However many other factions have imposed de facto “standards” based on market dominance of a particular software or solution. Standards bodies are often slow to move due to all the parties involved and some times hindered due to corporate interests interfering with the advancement of a standard. Although filled with the best intentions some times the bottom line of individual corporate interests can create bottlenecks but overall these standards bodies do an excellent job.
W3C
In October 1994 the W3C was formed.
The W3C mission is to lead the World Wide Web to its full potential by developing protocols and guidelines that ensure the long-term growth of the Web. Below we discuss important aspects of this mission, all of which further W3C’s vision of One Web.
The following principles guide W3C’s work.
Web for All
The social value of the Web is that it enables human communication, commerce, and opportunities to share knowledge. One of W3C’s primary goals is to make these benefits available to all people, whatever their hardware, software, network infrastructure, native language, culture, geographical location, or physical or mental ability. Learn more about:
Web on Everything
The number of different kinds of devices that can access the Web has grown immensely. Mobile phones, smart phones, personal digital assistants, interactive television systems, voice response systems, kiosks and even certain domestic appliances can all access the Web. Learn more about:
ISOC
The Internet Society (ISOC) is a nonprofit organisation founded in 1992 to provide leadership in Internet related standards, education, and policy. With offices in Washington D.C., USA, and Geneva, Switzerland, it is dedicated to ensuring the open development, evolution and use of the Internet for the benefit of people throughout the world.
The Internet Society provides leadership in addressing issues that confront the future of the Internet, and is the organisational home for the groups responsible for Internet infrastructure standards, including the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) and the Internet Architecture Board (IAB).
The Internet Society acts not only as a global clearinghouse for Internet information and education but also as a facilitator and coordinator of Internet-related initiatives around the world. For over 15 years ISOC has run international network training programs for developing countries and these have played a vital role in setting up the Internet connections and networks in virtually every country connecting to the Internet during this time.
The Internet Society has more than 80 organisational and more than 28,000 individual members in over 80 chapters around the world. ISOC has also created regional bureaus to better serve the regional Internet community. The Latin American and Caribbean bureau is located in Buenos Aires, Argentina, the African bureau in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia and the Asian bureau in Suva, Fiji.
Through its sponsored events, developing-country training workshops, tutorials, public policy, and regional and local chapters, the Internet Society serves the needs of the growing global Internet community. From commerce to education to social issues, our goal is to enhance the availability and utility of the Internet on the widest possible scale.
The Society’s individual and organisation members are bound by a common stake in maintaining the viability and global scaling of the Internet. They comprise the companies, government agencies, and foundations that have created the Internet and its technologies as well as innovative new entrepreneurial organisations contributing to maintain that dynamic. Visit their home pages to see how Internet innovators are creatively using the network.
At the start of 2008, ISOC launched a set of longer term, strategic activities, called “initiatives”. The initiatives which will drive ISOC’s activities in 2008-2010 are:
The Society is governed by its Board of Trustees, elected by its membership around the world.
IETF
The mission of the IETF is make the Internet work better by producing high quality, relevant technical documents that influence the way people design, use, and manage the Internet.
The IETF will pursue this mission in adherence to the following cardinal principles:
Open process – any interested person can participate in the work, know what is being decided, and make his or her voice heard on the issue. Part of this principle is our commitment to making our documents, our WG mailing lists, our attendance lists, and our meeting minutes publicly available on the Internet.
Technical competence – the issues on which the IETF produces its documents are issues where the IETF has the competence needed to speak to them, and that the IETF is willing to listen to technically competent input from any source. Technical competence also means that we expect IETF output to be designed to sound
network engineering principles – this is also often referred to as”engineering quality”.Volunteer Core – our participants and our leadership are people who come to the IETF because they want to do work that furthers the IETF’s mission of “making the Internet work better”.
Rough consensus and running code – We make standards based on the combined engineering judgement of our participants and our real-world experience in implementing and deploying our specifications.
Protocol ownership – when the IETF takes ownership of a protocol or function, it accepts the responsibility for all aspects of the protocol, even though some aspects may rarely or never be seen on the Internet. Conversely, when the IETF is not responsible for a protocol or function, it does not attempt to exert control over it, even though it may at times touch or affect the Internet.
WaSP
Founded in 1998, The Web Standards Project (WaSP) fights for standards that reduce the cost and complexity of development while increasing the accessibility and long-term viability of any site published on the Web. We work with browser companies,authoring tool makers, and our peers to deliver the true power of standards to this medium.
IRTF
Mission:
To promote research of importance to the evolution of the future Internet by creating focused, long-term and small Research Groups working on topics related to Internet protocols, applications, architecture and technology.
IRTF Overview
The Research Groups work on topics related to Internet protocols, applications, architecture and technology. Research Groups are expected to have the stable long term (with respect to the lifetime of the Research Group) membership needed to promote the development of research collaboration and teamwork in exploring research issues. Participation is by individual contributors, rather than by representatives of organizations.
The IRTF is managed by the IRTF Chair in consultation with the Internet Research Steering Group (IRSG). The IRSG membership includes the IRTF Chair, the chairs of the various Research Group and possibly other individuals (“members at large”) from the research community.
The IRTF Chair is appointed by the Internet Architecture Board (IAB), the Research Group chairs are appointed as part of the formation of Research Groups and the IRSG members at large are chosen by the IRTF Chair in consultation with the rest of the IRSG and on approval of the IAB. In addition to managing the Research Groups, the IRSG may from time to time hold topical workshops focusing on research areas of importance to the evolution of the Internet, or more general workshops to, for example, discuss research priorities from an Internet perspective.
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