{"id":724,"date":"2011-08-08T13:11:13","date_gmt":"2011-08-08T13:11:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/community\/?page_id=724"},"modified":"2020-06-17T10:00:45","modified_gmt":"2020-06-17T10:00:45","slug":"process-beta-pre20110808","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.w3.org\/community\/about\/process\/process-beta-pre20110808\/","title":{"rendered":"Community and Business Group Process (OBSOLETE)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Status:<\/strong> This version of the Community Group and Business Group Process is obsolete as of 8 August 2011; see the current version<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

This document defines the processes that govern W3C Community and Business Groups. Other groups within W3C, and the processes W3C follows to create standards, are governed by the W3C Process<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Summary<\/h2>\n

Since the early days of the Consortium, the number of stakeholders of the Web has grown significantly, powerful collaboration tools have gone mainstream, and expectations about standards themselves have evolved. W3C’s “classic” process and Membership models meet the needs of some stakeholders, but not all. W3C seeks to offer larger numbers of developers, designers, and others passionate about the Web the means to build communities.<\/p>\n

This document defines W3C Community Groups<\/a>, where anyone may develop specifications, hold discussions, develop tests, and so on, with no participation fee. Community groups emphasize individual innovation and allow an easy way for innovation from individuals to move to the “classic” W3C standards process, which emphasizes broad consensus-building and implementation among global stakeholders. Community Groups develop specifications under a Community Group Agreement<\/a> designed to strike a balance between ease of participation and safety for implementers and patent holders. The new offering complements the classic process and patent policy; it does not replace it. Read more about the objectives<\/a> of this project below.<\/p>\n

This document also defines Business Groups<\/a> to increase participation by organizations who may not be primarily motivated by participation in W3C standards development but instead are interested in the application of W3C technologies to business problems, and in providing high-bandwidth input to the standards process. Business Group participants who are not W3C Members pay for staff resources, but the fee<\/a> for participating in Business Groups is less than W3C Membership (and grants fewer benefits).<\/p>\n

These programs are managed by a Community Development Lead, chosen by W3C management. The roles of the Community Development Lead are described throughout this document.<\/p>\n

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W3C Forum<\/h2>\n

The W3C Forum is a venue for discussion of Web-related topics including development of specifications. People submit material (a “Community Submission”) to the Forum that they wish to be developed by a Community Group. W3C reserves the right to refuse publication of a Community Submission, for instance if the material is likely to cause offense or confusion.<\/p>\n

Individuals who wish to participate in the W3C Forum \u2014 enter into discussion or submit proposals \u2014 must agree to the general participation policies<\/a>. Participants are responsible for making clear the copyright and patent terms of their submissions.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n

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Community Submission Publication Policies<\/h3>\n

Community Submissions must not use a style that will cause them to be confused with W3C Technical Reports<\/a>. W3C may<\/span> publish additional policies to govern publication of Community Submissions.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n

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Community Groups<\/h2>\n

Community Groups are open to all with no fee. They are designed in particular to provide developers with a place to meet.<\/p>\n

When ideas gain momentum in the W3C Forum, discussion moves to a Community Group with an identified scope. The scope explains the topic of interest and is used to promote participation. It may evolve with time. The scope has no patent licensing implications.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n

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Creation of a Community Group<\/h3>\n

Anyone may propose the creation of a Community Group. A proposal is “complete” when:<\/p>\n