<br><font size=2 face="sans-serif">It might be best to separate the hosting
issues for the tz database from the governance issues.</font>
<br>
<br><font size=2 face="sans-serif">My vote is for hosting the tz data on
a site that has a higher profile in the standards world. To me, the
Unicode site would be an excellent candidate.</font>
<br>
<br><font size=2 face="sans-serif">There are various reasons for wanting
a higher profile url such as:</font>
<ul>
<li><font size=2 face="sans-serif">It lends credibility to the data. In
the past, when I have pointed people to the twinsun site, I've had to convince
them that this is a reputable site and that the data can be trusted. I
think a higher profile hosting site would be desirable in overcoming the
skepticism with trusting this data. For those of us who have been
associate with the tz data for a long time, this may be hard to understand
but for those new to it, it takes a leap of faith.</font>
<li><font size=2 face="sans-serif">Personal sites or sites associated with
a specific company are not desirable. Too many companies are dependent
upon this data. A personal site could go away overnight if the person
got hit by a bus while crossing the street. On the other hand, a
corporate site raises competitive concerns. What if my competitor
is controlling that data that I depend upon?</font>
<li><font size=2 face="sans-serif">Governments may be more willing to participate
directly if the tz workgroup is seen as a more formal standards organization
as determined by the hosting site.</font></ul>
<br><font size=2 face="sans-serif">So, IBM would like to see the hosting
done by a site with a higher profile in the open standards world. As
stated above, the Unicode site is a good option, especially since they
have offered to host it and they are a high profile site that hosts multiple
different important standards. Clearly, someone will have to make sure
that the new site has the data storage, security, and server capacity to
handle the data and traffic volumes for the site.</font>
<br>
<br><font size=2 face="sans-serif">As for governance. The governing
body of the tz data would determine (as they do today) the processes for
updating the data and for updating the data structure. There isn't
any reason that this would have to change just because the hosting organization
has changed. Mark Davis said that all that the Unicode consortium would
want is a clearly defined process for how updating is handled. It doesn't
have to be process-heavy, just documented. That's not a bad requirement.
Of course it might not be a bad idea to start thinking about how
this tz database could be taken to a new level. </font>
<br>
<br><font size=2 face="sans-serif">Here are some other thoughts:</font>
<ul>
<li><font size=2 face="sans-serif">It would be nice to have a formal name
for this tz group. The tz database has always sounded a bit informal
to me. It doesn't sound like a name and so this group doesn't seem to have
a name.</font>
<li><font size=2 face="sans-serif">If it were a formal standard, maybe
governments would be more willing to submit updates directly to tz. Maybe
work with the governments that make regular changes such as Egypt or Brazil
to establish a formal method of notification. Maybe create a tool or a
standard XML format or some other more formal but reasonably easy way to
submit tz changes.</font>
<li><font size=2 face="sans-serif">The rather informal approach to handling
updates has worked remarkably well up to now but this group might benefit
from a little more formal structure as we get ready for Mr. Olson to leave
in a few years. "Formal" can still be lightweight.</font>
<li><font size=2 face="sans-serif">It would be nice if the tz mailing list
was posted in a news group format or forum where different threads of discussion
could be tracked separately.</font></ul>
<br><font size=2 face="sans-serif">Since this approach to tz data has worked
very well for many years, it would be unproductive to invent some new organization
to do this same work. A better approach is to take this up a notch
and make this into a slightly more formally recognized organization.</font>
<br><font size=1 color=#424282 face="Verdana"><br>
<b><br>
Susan J Williams</b><br>
Globalization Leadership Team, IBM</font>