Standards

Standards © Randall Munroe · xkcd · CC BY-NC 2.5
Why it lands
The usual fate of the one standard meant to replace all the others: it becomes one more. Worth rereading before proposing a new format, protocol or in-house framework, and a reason to ask first whether one of the existing fourteen can be extended.
Transcript
- HOW STANDARDS PROLIFERATE:
- (SEE: A/C CHARGERS, CHARACTER ENCODINGS, INSTANT MESSAGING, ETC.)
- SITUATION: THERE ARE 14 COMPETING STANDARDS.
- 14?! RIDICULOUS! WE NEED TO DEVELOP ONE UNIVERSAL STANDARD THAT COVERS EVERYONE'S USE CASES.
- YEAH!
- SOON:
- SITUATION: THERE ARE 15 COMPETING STANDARDS.
Credits
- Original
- Standards — Randall Munroe, xkcd
- Image file
- imgs.xkcd.com/comics/standards_2x.png
- License
- CC BY-NC 2.5
The English page shows the original image unmodified. The Japanese page shows an adaptation by wtfe²: the lettering was erased from the art and replaced with a Japanese translation. The adaptation is shared under the same license as the original.