lifetime of standards

[Robert Hanisch]

> I was asked a few questions that I couldn't answer today:
Who's asking...?
>
> 1. Once IVOA releases standards this December for the registry and other
> workgroups, will anyone maintain them after December 31st?
>
> 2. How long will IVOA as an entity exist?
>
> 3. Depending on the answers to 1 and 2, could maintenance of standards be
> passed to another, longer term group (such as W3, IEEE, or GGF)?
I think the answers to 1, 2, and 3 all lie in creating a VO oversight body
within other long-lived organizations, such as the IAU.  In fact with this
summer's IAU General Assembly, we will be creating a working group in
Commission 5 (Astronomical Data) to deal with VO.  The idea is to have a
situation somewhat similar to that for the FITS standard (though with a more
flexible review process), in which we have both national and international
committees whose job it is to maintain the standard.

This somewhat begs the issue of what the VO will look like in a few years.
On the east side of the Atlantic things are moving toward Euro-VO, and over
here things are still unsettled as to how NSF and NASA ultimately come to
terms with an operating VO, as opposed to short-term development projects.
It is looking somewhat optimistic, however, that NASA will begin supporting
development complementary to the NSF-funded NVO project next year.  So, to
answer question 2 more explicitly, I think as long as we have national
projects and are willing to work together to build common standards, we will
have an IVOA.

Cheers,
Bob