Chris,

Thanks for your rant.  There are many grains of truth in it.  I have the
same objections about the current crop of officers turning the IPC into
little more than a vehicle for marketing to designers.  Seems like a
huge conflict of interest to serve on the board of an organization, when
you should be looking out for the interests of your membership.

Regards-
Michael Howell
* <http://home.earthlink.net/%7Emhowell777>*

Chris Ball wrote:

>Since it's been quiet lately....
>
><RANT>
>When I was a kid growing up in the USA, the USSR was the bad guy. The thing
>I remember most (besides Kruschev with a hole in his shoe) was that their
>government was always spewing complete bull$h!t to their people. And the
>government's version was the only version the media dispersed. That wasn't
>really the worst aspect of their regime, but that's what I remember most
>vividly.
>
>It seems to me that America is sliding down the same path these days. You
>look the camera in the eye and spew. Your story doesn't even have to be
>very plausible. This technique seems to be working for our current regime
>and for several ex-CEO's. I concede that our current leaders are not the
>first to employ the tactic (I would argue that the gravity of the subject
>matter is vastly different, but that's a whole 'nuther thing).
>
>And now it seems to propagating into the general population.
>
>
>IPC-7351 is different than any IPC spec has ever been. If you purchase it,
>you receive a piece of software from an outside company as part of your
>purchase. If you use this software, you find that more goodies are
>available to you from the authors for a price. I'm not saying whether
>that's a good thing or a bad thing, just that it's true.
>
>Now it sounds as though the next highly anticipated spec, IPC-2152, will be
>similar in that it will be linked with an outside company's product(s).
>
>When posts on this forum appeared questioning the way things were being
>done, in both cases, responses quickly appeared informing us that these
>guys put up a lot of their own money and time just to get this done. These
>postings implied that people out there are making great personal sacrifices
>to improve things for us designers, with little or no thought of personal
>gain. No backroom deals or insider trading, nothing sneaky here.
>
>The point being obscured by this propaganda is that IPC specifications are
>now endorsing and bundling specific commercial products. It appears to be a
>trend.
>
>Is this acceptable to the general population of specification consumers, or
>does it seem a little shady? Are there any other examples of standards
>organizations integrating a limited subset of a commercial software
>application (with hooks to other for-purchase features) into their
>published specifications?
>
>-Chris (el-CID)
>
>P.S.
>If I decided to open a restaurant, I'd put a lot of my own time and money
>into it. I'd hope my customers really loved the food, left happy, and came
>back often; that dining at my establishment affected their lives in a
>positive way. I'd care deeply about people who eat, and honestly have their
>best interests at heart.
>
>But it would all be driven by self-interest. I wouldn't do it if I didn't
>think I could at least make a living at it. I don't think anyone would. I
>wouldn't appreciate being represented as some sort of culinary martyr in
>the food forums.
>
>And if I was in cahoots with the food critics and travel guides, and on the
>premier gourmet publication's board of directors, that'd be great for me.
></RANT>
>
>

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