citing IVOA standards

[Rob Seaman]

Andy at ROE wrote:

> But in addition, as well as who makes the recommendation, the  
> crucial thing is who uses it.  This is a positive feedback loop. As  
> more folk use the "recommendations" of Body X, so the utterances of  
> Body X gain force. In this way the IVOA does not yet have W3C  
> authority, but we are working towards it.

We should recognize that this is a question of relative market  
penetration, not the absolute size of the market.  Astronomy is a few  
thousand people, but with a disproportionate impact.  IVOA standards  
gain importance with the fraction of our (small) community using them.

On the other hand, some obscure W3C standard may appear widely adopted  
because more people than are in the entire astronomical community use  
it - but actually be quite marginal because the fractional penetration  
is down in the decimals.

Rob Seaman
NOAO