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Maintaining Standards
By Robyn Greenspan
October 2, 2001

Maintaining StandardsIf you build, design, develop, operate or own a Web site, you should familiarize yourself with The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). The consortium was created in October 1994 to develop common protocols, specifications, guidelines, software, and tools to lead the Web to its full potential as a forum for information, commerce, communication, and collective understanding.

The W3C's commitment to uniform interoperability standards allows for the unencumbered exchange of information and encourages an open forum for discussion. The W3C is already preparing for the Web's next generation with technologies that will help make the Web a robust, scalable, and adaptive infrastructure for a world of information.

The W3C is hosted by three organizations — the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the United States, the French National Institute for Research in Computer Science and Control (INRIA) in France, and Keio University in Japan — with local offices in Australia, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Israel, Italy, Morocco, Sweden, The Netherlands, and the United Kingdom.

Long term Goals of the W3C are defined as:

  1. Universal Access: To make the Web accessible to all by promoting technologies that take into account the vast differences in culture, education, ability, material resources, and physical limitations of users on all continents.
  2. Semantic Web: To develop a software environment that permits each user to make the best use of the resources available on the Web.
  3. Web of Trust: To guide the Web's development with careful consideration for the novel legal, commercial, and social issues raised by this technology.

The W3C addresses key Internet issues, such as:

  • Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) — WAI, in coordination with organizations around the world, pursues accessibility of the Web through five primary areas of work: technology, guidelines, tools, education and outreach, and research and development.
  • HyperText Markup Language (HTML) — Here you will find pointers to our specifications for HTML, guidelines on how to use HTML to the best effect, and pointers to related work at W3C.
  • Platform for Privacy Preferences (P3P) Project — P3P is emerging as an industry standard providing a simple, automated way for users to gain more control over the use of personal information on Web sites they visit.
  • Extensible Markup Language (XML) — The universal format for structured documents and data on the Web.

The W3C's site is filled with a tremendous amount of free resources, such as working drafts, mailing lists, technical reports, newsletters, and other information. Paid members ($US 50,000 per year for full membership; $US 5,000 per year for qualifying affiliates) are entitled to additional benefits: a seat on the W3C Advisory Committee; the ability to provide strategic direction to the Consortium; access to the Member Web site containing information on events, technologies, software releases, working groups, forums, mailing lists, news and announcements; W3C news services; participation in Interest Groups, Working Groups, and Workshops; and the right to use the W3C Member Logo on your Web site and to participate in press releases. Membership is open to commercial, educational and governmental organizations.