Simultaneously, ECMA addresses this in Response 34 of its proposed Disposition of Comments by removing all references to idiosyncrasies from the specification and placing them in a newly formed Annex for deprecated information. With the removal of this information from the DIS-29500, the design goal of MS-OOXML can no longer be met. The entire specification has therefore effectively become obsolete.
Analysis has shown before that MS-OOXML is covering the same functional space as ISO/IEC 26300:2006 and is unnecessary. It was ECMA which insisted on backward-oriented documentation of idiosyncrasies being a sufficient motive for ISO to ignore the good practice of forward-oriented standardisation. But even by ECMAs own criteria the rationale for DIS-29500 has been deprecated.
In essence: Response 34 of the proposed Disposition of Comments effectively contradicts and invalidates Response 31, which cites preservation of idiosyncrasies as the primary design goal and reason for DIS-29500. It also invalidates ECMAs February 2007 response to similar criticism.
http://fsfeurope.org/documents/msooxml-idiosyncrasies
http://fsfeurope.org/documents/msooxml-idiosyncrasies.pdf
