Microsoft's Open Specification Promise (OSP) has been somewhat controversial, which is probably not what the company intended. The OSP is basically a "we won't sue you" promise to developers who implement software based on any of a variety of Microsoft specifications. Due to longstanding distrust or specific legal issues, some open source developers have viewed the OSP as a threat rather than a promise. As OSCON today, Microsoft tried to lay some of those fears to rest, and also extended the reach of the OSP.

We've written before about the strange and dubious story of the adoption of Microsoft's OOXML document formats as an international standard by the ISO. The ISO ratified the standards a few months ago as part of a "fast track" process that left a number of members of the open source community disquieted, or even disgusted. Now, however, it seems that the game may not be over yet, as several member bodies of the ISO have lodged appeals against the outcome.

Why is OOXML a bad standard? What does it mean for open source developers? And what, if anything, can menbers of the open source community do, now that OOXML has been adopted by the ISO?