Introduction to the Study

The Problem

The central focus of this study is on the practice of technical standardization as a form of public discourse and idea production within a technical culture. In particular, the study focuses on the discourse surrounding a recent trend toward the privatization or “enclosure” of standardization activities under various corporations, trade associations, and consortia, and away from the more traditional, and possibly, as often claimed, more “open,” more democratic, and more inclusive voluntary consensus³ committees. The distinction between the traditional formal system⁴ and the newer consortia is one of legitimacy based on accreditation, on adherence to certain principles and rules of process, and on custom. The public or open nature of the traditional bodies was already somewhat problematic in various respects, given their institutional history, their economic importance, and the variety of interests they have served. Now, it can be argued that parts of the system are being further enclosed. The central issue that emerges in this study from the standards discourse is that of legitimacy—the real or perceived legitimacy of the standards and of the process by which they are derived.