IMS produces standards they want everyone to use.
Why, then, do I have to log in to their site in order to VIEW the documentation for their standards?
Situation: I found a link to a PDF on their site. When I clicked it, I was presented with this warm greeting [link no longer available]:
Sorry
The page you are trying to access is reserved for participants in the IMS GLC Public Community or is reserved for IMS GLC Members, Affiliates or Alliance Members.If you have already set up an account and just need to login, please do so here. If you would like to register for a free public community account, just head on over to our registration page.
So… in order for me to even read their standards, I have to tell them who I am and put my personal information in their database? How does this foster adoption of standards?
Geez these guys burn my britches…
UPDATE:
The IMS site requires the following information before you can view any of their documentation: Name, email, organization name, job title, job description, country
Pretty invasive if you ask me.
UPDATE #2:
After registering for site access, I was greeted with a second page asking for persona information, and asking me to agree to IMS’s licensing terms. They require the following information: Name, email, “entity on whose behalf you are accepting this agreement”, street address (includes city, zip, country), phone number
(Phone number? Seriously?)
The license terms are FIVE PAGES long after pasting into a Word file.
Interesting bits (emphasis mine):
IMS specifications are published solely for the purpose of enabling interoperability among learning products and services used by the education and training communities served by IMS members and are made available under license to Registered Users solely to further that purpose.
I guess this means the standards aren’t meant for public consumption after all, though the end result of the standards are?
Users of the Specification(s) are encouraged to engage directly with IMS as IMS members, including registration of all applications of specifications, in order to enhance the level of interoperability in the education and training industries worldwide.
I read this as: tell us who you are and how you’re using IMS specifications so we can include you in our next press release (you know, the part where we pat ourselves on the back).
Any use of the Specifications(s) or other Materials provided by IMS must be accompanied by the copyright legends provided with full attribution given to IMS.
If this were the case with the HTML, ECMAScript, or XML standards, our documents would be bloated with useless attribution credits. (Side note: I wonder how this affects SCORM, as SCORM uses IMS specifications for packaging? Is anyone who produces a SCORM-based course supposed to pay respect to the Don provide attribution to IMS in their courseware?)
Licensee agrees to publicly and visibly acknowledge and attribute to IMS the Specification(s) upon which products are based to any and all Development Partner(s).
So if Company X uses an IMS specification, they’re supposed to go over to each “Development Partner” — many of whom may be commercial competitors — and let them know?