[open-cobol-list] Access to PL22.4 documents

[Bill Klein]

to: comp.lang.cobol and OpenCOBOL people

In the past (and as of today), all people (users, vendors, whatever) who
were 
interested in seeing the DETAILS of the work being done by PL22.4
(formerly J4) 
could do so by going to the web-page:

  http://www.cobolstandard.info/j4/index.htm

This provided access to such things as "drafts" of the ongoing revision
work and 
details on the specific revision and defect processing that J4 / PL22.4
was (is) 
doing.

Due to either a "change in policy" or a "stricter enforcement of what
they 
thought was already the policy", INCITS (the parent of PL22 which is the

Technical Committee that is the parent of PL22.4) is now trying to
"strengthen" 
the benefits of being a member and/or to limit access to "internal"
documents by 
"outsiders".

To read the exact rules (as of today)  of this parent body, go to the
(public) 
document at:
  http://www.incits.org/rd1/INCITS_RD1.pdf

and look for the section,
  "2.2 Policy Regarding Document Access and Membership Benefits"

The bottom-line (as I see it), is that if you now OR IN THE FUTURE,
think you 
will want to see documents such as those currently posted on the PL22.4
website, 
I would suggest that you do one of the following:

A) Join PL22.4 (or get an existing member organization to designate you
as an 
alternate)
  or
B) Contact the PL22.4 chair at:

    bobkarlin <at> karlinskorner.com

and request:
  - that he communicate your interest in PL22.4 going to the "public
access 
model"
              and
 - that when PL22.4 does go on that model, that you would like access to
the 
public documents

* * * * *

As usual, if you (like many in these groups) don't care at all about the
ongoing 
COBOL Standardization process, then you need do nothing - and nothing
will 
change for you!

P.S.  Rules are also changing if you think you might ever want to
"visit" a 
PL22.4 meeting.  Contact me off list if you think this might impact you.

P.P.S.  WG4 (the ISO-ish group) has always had more restrictive document
access 
and meeting attendance rules.  These have not changed.)

-- 
Bill Klein
 wmklein <at> ix.netcom.com