At 08:14 AM 7/15/2005 -0700, Jeff Garwick wrote: >Sorry for this posting again. Does anyone know of any standards (CD or >program) at a reasonable price? Under $5000...? Why are the EDIFACT >standards free on-line, however you have to pay $800 for a 1500 X12 one >version only book?
Sigh, here we go again... The short answer is that nothing comes without a cost. Someone has to pay for developing those standards even if you don't pay to receive copies of them. There are several administrative costs associated with developing a standard. In addition most bodies have to pay for meeting venues, IT resources, and similar things. Standards bodies basically have four different ways to meet these costs: dues, meeting fees, publication fees, and donated resources. Some bodies use primarily a single mechanism, such as meeting fees (UN/CEFACT and IETF, for example). UN/CEFACT also seems to rely on donated resources (work group web sites or teleconferences hosted by companies, for example), and I have heard from some sources that UN/CEFACT has a history of being chronically underfunded. Many organizations, such as OAG and the W3C, rely primarily on dues (W3C's are pretty hefty). For better or worse X12 25 years ago chose a model of dues (comparatively modest), publication fees (high, compared to free), and a tiny contribution from meeting fees paid by non-members. Although charging for publications was fairly common 25 years ago, in the age of the Internet it is becoming increasingly uncommon. However, ISO and ANSI are among those that still charge for publications. Industry groups such as AIAG and the UCC also charge for their EDI implementation guides (standards). If you don't like having to pay for the X12 standards, I extend to you a personal invitation to come to an X12 meeting (at your expense) and share with us your alternate proposals for funding and running the organization. Getting something (standards) for nothing is quite common these days. However, forgive me for saying so but complaining when you don't is not now and never was considered good manners. Cheers, Mike --------------------------------------------------------------- Michael C. Rawlins, Rawlins EC Consulting www.rawlinsecconsulting.com Using XML with Legacy Business Applications (Addison-Wesley, 2003) www.awprofessional.com/titles/0321154940 . Please use the following Message Identifiers as your subject prefix: <SALES>, <JOBS>, <LIST>, <TECH>, <MISC>, <EVENT>, <OFF-TOPIC> Access the list online at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/EDI-L Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/EDI-L/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
