I'm wondering if Randall regrets writing this one because of the frequency it gets cited as a argument against new standards. Almost every commonly used Standa

I'm wondering if Randall regrets writing this one because of the frequency it gets cited as a argument against new standards. Almost every commonly used Standard was born in a world with existing standards purporting to be the ideal solution for that niche. It's not even the sentiment that the comic represents. The comic refers to standards that try to in-the-darkness-bind-them. Competing formats and protocols should be encouraged and should compete on merit. If people use them because they are good, _then_ they can be elevated to the status of a standard. Bad formats only proliferate when they have another driving force behind them. "It's the standard" is one of those driving forces. Proprietary (and Cathedral) software also have the "We made this and you have to use it" problem.