XPost: comp.os.linux.advocacy   
   From: ldo@nz.invalid   
      
   On Tue, 27 Jan 2026 13:35:54 -0500, -hh wrote:   
      
   > For example, I can recall past advocacy claims about how one doesn't   
   > need to pay for MS-Office because their files are compatible in some   
   > of the FOSS "Office" products. Was this a correct & true statement?   
      
   Microsoft did manage to push through an official-seeming “standard”   
   (ISO 29500, aka “OOXML”) which is supposed to codify the file formats   
   they use in Microsoft Office.   
      
   Where it falls down is, the spec is a complete mess, totally unworthy   
   of the imprimatur of an official standard. It defines “transitional”   
   and “strict” options, with “transitional” obviously needed to   
   accommodate the status quo in Microsoft Office at the time, the plan   
   being for everybody (Microsoft as well as third parties trying to   
   interoperate with the same formats) to migrate towards the “strict”   
   spec at some point.   
      
   That was about two decades ago. Since then, the progress towards   
   “strict” ISO 29500 conformance has been ... (crickets).   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)