From 100434.3031@CompuServe.COM Thu May 23 12:59:59 1996 Received: from dub-img-4.compuserve.com (dub-img-4.compuserve.com [198.4.9.4]) by dkuug.dk (8.6.12/8.6.12) with ESMTP id MAA02971 for ; Thu, 23 May 1996 12:59:51 +0200 Received: by dub-img-4.compuserve.com (8.6.10/5.950515) id GAA20634; Thu, 23 May 1996 06:58:44 -0400 Date: 23 May 96 06:34:32 EDT From: Jean Stride <100434.3031@CompuServe.COM> To: ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 24 Cc: AFNORSC29PMEMB <100565.3724@CompuServe.COM>, George Battrick , John Bijlsma , Keith Brannon , Steve Carson , Andre Ducrot , Ralph Goldsmith , Ingolf Grieger , Paul ten Hagen , Lofton Henderson , Wolfgang Herzner , Hideko Kikuchi , Leszek Kotsch , Doug Langlotz , Michelle Maas , Anne Mumford , Unknown CompuServe address , Dennis Potter <100271.1617@CompuServe.COM>, Richard Puk , Lisa Rajchel , Joachim RIx , Susie Quinn Sherrick , Klaus Sondergaard , Horst Stenzel , Jiri Zara Subject: SC 24 Sec Report in IT Strategy (SC 24 N1544) Message-ID: <960523103432_100434.3031_BHG59-2@CompuServe.COM> ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 24 N1544 ISO/IEC JTC1/SC24 Electronic Document Distribution Pilot Study - Secretariat Report At the SC24 Plenary Meeting in Ottawa, an Ad hoc study group was established to begin implementation of the ISO/IEC JTC1 Electronic Distribution Policy (Current Reference Document JTC1 N 4054, SC 22 N 1523). All SC24 document up to and including those produced in Ottawa had previously been produced in hard copy only. In Ottawa much debate took place as to the most appropriate form of document distribution for SC24 and it was agreed that for a trial period documents received in electronic format would be made available to members on diskette (as per JTC1 guidelines) and also on a server distribution site. The Computer Graphics Unit at Manchester University very kindly agreed to establish a password controlled "site" from which SC24 members could view/download SC24 "N-numbered" documents. The SC24 Secretariat was actioned to : Obtain Email addresses for the "official" SC24 membership list (i.e. NSBs, Liaison Officers, WG/RG Officers) Issue instructions on how to access the site, containing the password details Forward electronic documents to Computer Graphics Unit at Manchester University for uploading, with the SC 24 cover document Issue an email message to the to advise when new documents were available. The site was officially opened on 14 February 1996, and since that date in excess of 37 documents have been uploaded. These accompany documents from Ottawa which have been made available electronically, making over 80 documents in total. The documents are being made available in their original format plus in HTML. The number of accesses being made each month are as follows :- April 1996 82 accesses May 1996 To be advised ! There has been very little feedback from members regarding the use of this facility. It is not known whether NSBs can/do access the site and how they are using the facility to disseminate the information to those within their country/organisation/committee. Information is needed from all members regarding this distribution media before any decision can be made as to how to progress the SC24 Policy in line with the JTC1 directives. In parallel with the server distribution, BSI has established a diskette distribution system, which mirrors the system used by the ANSI based secretariats. A total of 6 diskettes have been issued from October 1995 - May 1996 containing 37 documents. Most documents have been issued in Word 6 format, the "preferred" SC24 format. After some initial teething problems with graphics, this system appears to be working smoothly, however input from the UK has been that this media is unpopular. Unfortunately many documents, probably 60%, continue to arrive either on paper or in formats that can not be handled by the majority of the recipients. It is recognised that most WP packages do not meet the needs of those producing complex technical documents, especially in the graphics area, however most NSBs are unable to handle much more than Word or WordPerfect. This obviously restricts electronic distribution, and members are once again encouraged to submit documents in "secretariat-friendly" formats. Both the SC24 Chairman and Secretariat have been involved at the JTC1 level in the discussions on Electronic document distribution. Whilst the formatting guidelines are far from perfect for all levels of JTC 1 "user" i.e. NSBs, Industry, Secretariats, Project Editors etc., some improvement has been made towards making them more suited to the needs of the whole JTC 1 community JTC 1 Sub-committees have been requested to review the output documents of the latest IT Strategy meeting in Sydney, Australia, and submit comments to JTC 1 by 1996-06-30. The next meeting of the group is planned for late September in London, and it is anticipated that the SC 24 Secretariat will attend. It is hoped that the SC 24 Ad Hoc meeting on Ad Hoc Group on IT Strategy, called for Monday 17 June, Kyoto, will address the issues raised in this paper and any problems identified, agree the future SC 24 IT Strategy and provide input to JTC 1 for discussion at the forthcoming IT Strategy meeting. J M Stride ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 24 Secretariat