Web Directory

» Attachments in Proprietary Formats Considered Harmful
   Explains the risks of exchanging data in non-public format and suggests the main alternatives.
   http://www.cse.unsw.edu.au/~chak/email.html

» Avoid E-Mail Attachments, Especially Microsoft Word
   Short document with instructions to MS-Word users on alternatives they can use for document exchange.
   http://bcn.boulder.co.us/~neal/attachments.html

» Build Systems, Not Companies, on Open Standards
   Without standards, every job is a one-off, and vendor lock-in is assured after the first project. Open standards are the beating heart of e-Business, without which concepts like intranets and business-to-business commerce would not be practical on a mass
   http://www.intranetjournal.com/articles/200202/gb_02_20_02a.html

» Burn All GIFs
   Campaign for replacing the (formerly) patent-encumbered GIF format by open standard graphics. Since the GIF formats has become patent-free, the site advocates against software patents.
   http://burnallgifs.org/archives/

» Business Case for Open Standards
   Paper investigating economical issues related to the diffusion of public standards.
   http://www.openstandards.net/viewOSnet1C.jsp?showModuleName=businessCaseForOpenStandards

» Content Management and Edit Data Exchange
   Article on formats interoperability in audio and video content.
   http://www.edlmax.com/ContentManagement.htm

» Cover Pages: Patents and Open Standards
   Investigates the effects of patent proliferation and criticizes reasonable and non-discriminatory license terms (RAND) for patented technologies.
   http://xml.coverpages.org/patents.html

» Document Freedom Day
   Aims to educate the public about the importance of Free Document Formats and Open Standards in general. Coordinates activities that happen on last Wednesday of March, celebrated as the Document Freedom Day.
   http://www.documentfreedom.org/

» Linux Standard Base
   The goal of the Linux Standard Base (LSB) is to develop and promote a set of standards that will increase compatibility among Linux distributions and enable software applications to run on any compliant Linux system.
   http://www.linuxfoundation.org/collaborate/workgroups/lsb

» MS-Word Is Not a Document Exchange Format
   Explains the appropriate use of document formats and argues against the use of Word attachments.
   http://goldmark.org/netrants/no-word/attach.html

» No Proprietary Binary Data Formats
   Why not use proprietary formats and what are the main open alternatives.
   http://www.podval.org/~sds/data.html

» Open Data Format Initiative
   Initiative aiming to convince software companies to release data format documentation and to pass laws that governments can only store user data in open format. Presents its manifesto, forum, news, links to institutional resolutions.
   http://odfi.org/

» Open Design Alliance
   An association of CAD customers and vendors committed to promoting open, industry-standard formats for the exchange of CAD data. History, members, FAQs, and published papers.
   http://www.opendesign.com/

» Open Media Now! Foundation
   Supports free ways to create, to distribute and display digital content by actively developing cross-platform solutions, such as Gnash.
   http://www.openmedianow.org/

» Open Source versus Open Standards
   Draws a distinction between open source advocacies and the promotion of public standards, warning against the confusion of these two initiatives.
   http://news.cnet.com/2010-1071-995823.html

» Open Standards
   What is a standard, what is an open standard, and why use open standards on the Internet.
   http://www.wigglebits.com/standards.html

» Open Standards - The Only Option
   Internet technologies and the economical challenge of open protocols.
   http://www.sdtimes.com/content/article.aspx?ArticleID=25695

» Open Standards Repository
   Archive of standards relevant to the Open Source community, including licenses, public standards, protocols, RFCs.
   http://openstandards.org/

» OpenStandards.net
   A not-for-profit organization connecting people to open standards and the bodies that build and foster their growth.
   http://www.openstandards.net/

» Openformats.org
   Collaborative documentation projects on why use public standards and open formats and why avoid proprietary formats in data exchange.
   http://www.openformats.org/

» Please don't send me Microsoft Word documents
   A discussion of the problems of MSWord as a document exchange format and what alternatives are available. Suitable for a non-technical audience.
   http://en.nothingisreal.com/wiki/Please_don%27t_send_me_Microsoft_Word_documents

» Sincere Choice
   Intercommunication and file formats should follow standards that are sincerely open for all to implement, without royalty fees or discrimination.
   http://sincerechoice.org/

» Software versus Protocol (or file format) Standards
   Essay by Erik Fair explaining how open standards may help mitigate or prevent "customer lock-in" strategies.
   http://www.clock.org/~fair/opinion/open-standards.html

» Streaming media: A case for open standards
   Benefits of the development of open specifications for audio and video formats. By Rich Mavrogeanes.
   http://news.cnet.com/2010-1025_3-5099118.html

» The Principles of Open Standards
   Ken Krechmer analyzes the distinct issues behind advocacy for non-proprietary formats.
   http://www.csrstds.com/openstds.html

» W3C Patent Policy
   Governs the handling of patents in the process of producing Web standards. The goal of this policy is to assure that Recommendations produced under this policy can be implemented on a Royalty-Free (RF) basis.
   http://www.w3.org/Consortium/Patent-Policy

» We Can Put an End to Word Attachments
   Richard Stallman's arguments against the use of proprietary formats in document exchange.
   http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/no-word-attachments.html

» Why Not Word!
   Why not using Word, Excel or any other proprietary format to communicate.
   http://www.rfc1149.net/documents/whynotword.html.en

» Why There Are Not GIF Files on GNU Pages
   Advocates against the use of image formats that are protected by patents. Presents a brief history of the GIF format as well as its open alternatives.
   http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/gif.html