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<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd">
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<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en"><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8" /><title>Facts About W3C</title><link rel="stylesheet" href="/2008/site/css/minimum" type="text/css" media="handheld, all" /><style type="text/css" media="print, screen and (min-width: 481px)" xml:space="preserve">
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<h3 class="category"><span class="ribbon"><a href="/Consortium/" title="Up to About W3C">About W3C <img src="/2008/site/images/header-link" alt="Header link" width="13" height="13" class="header-link" /></a></span></h3>
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<h1 class="title">Facts About W3C</h1>
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<ul class="w3c_toc"><li class="toc_prefix">On this page → </li><li><a href="#people">people of W3C</a><span class="bullet"> • </span></li><li><a href="#org">organizational structure</a><span class="bullet"> • </span></li><li><a href="#revenue">revenue model</a><span class="bullet"> • </span></li><li><a href="#international">international participation</a><span class="bullet"> • </span></li><li><a href="#process">process</a><span class="bullet"> • </span></li><li><a href="#patpol">patent policy</a><span class="bullet"> • </span></li><li><a href="#history">history</a></li></ul>
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<div class="line">
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<div class="unit size3on4">
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<p class="intro tPadding">
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The World Wide Web Consortium achieves its <a href="mission">mission</a> by bringing diverse stake-holders
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together, under a clear and effective consensus-based process to develop
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<a href="/standards/">high-quality standards</a> based on contributions from the W3C Members, staff, and the community at large.
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</p>
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<h2 id="people">People of W3C</h2>
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<p style="float: right" class="lPadding tPadding">
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<a class="imageLink" href="http://www.w3.org/2008/10/w3cteam">
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<img src="/2008/10/team-photo-small.jpg" alt="W3C Team" />
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</a>
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</p>
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<p>W3C is led by <a href="/People/Berners-Lee">Tim Berners-Lee</a>, inventor of the World Wide Web, and <a href="/People/Jeff/">Dr. Jeffrey Jaffe, W3C CEO.</a> They are supported by a <a href="/People/all">staff</a> of technical experts who help coordinate technology development and manage the operations of the Consortium.</p>
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<p>
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<a href="/Consortium/Member/List">W3C Members</a> and invited experts from the public provide energy to the <a href="/Consortium/activities">groups</a> that write <a href="/standards/">W3C's Web standards</a>.</p>
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<p>The broader Web community also plays an important
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role in reviewing and providing input on specifications; there are many ways to <a href="/participate">participate</a> in W3C even
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as an individual.</p>
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<h2 id="org">Organizational Structure</h2>
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<p>W3C does not have a typical organizational structure, nor is it incorporated. There are at least two ways to think about how W3C is organized:</p>
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<ol class="show_items"><li>in administrative terms</li><li>in process terms</li></ol>
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<p>In administrative terms: W3C is administered via a joint agreement among three "Host Institutions" (<a href="http://www.csail.mit.edu/">
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<acronym title="Massachusetts Institute of Technology">MIT</acronym>
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</a>, <a href="http://www.ercim.org/">
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<acronym title="European Research Consortium for Informatics and Mathematics">ERCIM</acronym>
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</a>, and <a href="http://www.keio.ac.jp/">Keio University</a>).
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The <a href="/People/">W3C staff</a> (many of
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whom work physically at one of these institutions) is led by a Director and CEO.
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A small <a href="/People/domain?domain=Management">management team</a> is responsible for resource allocation and strategic planning on behalf of the staff. Regional <a href="/Consortium/Offices">offices</a> play an important role in W3C being an <a href="#international">international organization</a>.
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</p>
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<p>In process terms: the <a href="/Consortium/Process">W3C Process Document</a>, <a href="/2005/03/Member-Agreement">Member Agreement</a>, <a href="/Consortium/Patent-Policy-20040205/">Patent Policy</a>, and a few others documents establish the roles and responsibilities of the parties involved in the making of W3C standards. Some key components of the organization are:</p>
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<ul class="show_items"><li>the <a href="/2005/10/Process-20051014/organization.html#AC">Advisory Committee</a>, composed of one representative
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from each <a href="/Consortium/Member/List">W3C Member</a>. The Advisory Committee has a number of review roles
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in the W3C Process, and they elect the Advisory Board and TAG.</li><li>the <a href="/2005/10/Process-20051014/organization.html#AB">Advisory Board</a>, an advisory body elected by the Advisory Committee</li><li>the <a href="/2005/10/Process-20051014/organization.html#TAG">Technical Architecture Group (TAG)</a>, which primarily seeks to document Web Architecture principles</li><li>the W3C Director and CEO, who assess consensus for W3C-wide decisions</li><li>the <a href="/Consortium/activities">chartered groups</a>, populated by Member representatives and invited experts, and which produce most of W3C's deliverables according to the steps of the W3C Process.</li></ul>
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<h2 id="revenue">Revenue Model</h2>
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<p>W3C sources of revenue include:</p>
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<ul class="show_items"><li>
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<a href="/Consortium/fees">W3C Member dues</a>
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</li><li>
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<a href="/Consortium/nmfunds">Research grants and other sources of private and public funding</a>
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</li><li>Individual donations of money and equipment through the
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<a href="/Consortium/sup">W3C Supporters Program</a> and
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the <a href="/QA/Tools/Donate">Validator Donation Program</a>
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</li></ul>
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<h2 id="international">International Participation</h2>
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<p>Organizations <a href="/Consortium/Member/stats">located all over the world</a> and involved in many different
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fields join W3C to participate in a vendor-neutral forum for the creation of
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Web standards. <a href="/Consortium/Member/List">W3C Members</a> and a dedicated <a href="/People/">full-time staff of technical experts</a> have earned W3C
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international recognition for its contributions to the Web.
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W3C's global efforts includes:</p>
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<ul class="show_items"><li>
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<a href="/2001/11/StdLiaison">liaisons</a> with national,
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regional and international organizations around the globe. These contacts
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help W3C maintain a culture of global participation in the development of the
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World Wide Web. W3C coordinates particularly closely with other organizations
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that are developing standards for the Web or Internet in order to enable
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clear progress.</li>
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<li>The <a href="/Consortium/Offices">Offices Program</a>,
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which promotes adoption of W3C recommendations among developers, application builders, and standards setters, and encourage inclusions of stakeholder organizations in the creation of future standards by joining W3C.</li>
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<li>
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<a href="Translation/Overview.html">translations</a> of
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<a href="/standards/">Web standards</a> and other materials
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from dedicated volunteers in the W3C community. W3C also has a
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<a href="/2005/02/TranslationPolicy.html">policy for authorized
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translations</a> of W3C materials. Authorized W3C Translations can be used for official purposes in languages other than English.</li><li>
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<a href="/Talks/">talks</a> around the world in a variety of languages
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on Web standards by people closely involved in the creation of
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the standards.</li><li>
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<a href="/International/">W3C's Internationalization Activity</a> helps ensure that the Web is available to people.</li></ul>
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<h2 id="process">Process</h2>
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<p>Most W3C work revolves around the standardization of Web
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technologies. To accomplish this work, W3C follows
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<a href="/Consortium/Process/">processes</a> that
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promote the development of high-quality standards based on community
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<strong>consensus</strong>; an
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<a href="/2005/10/Process-20051014/intro">introduction to the W3C Process</a>
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gives a sense of how W3C gets work done.
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<strong>All stakeholders</strong> can have a voice in the
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development of W3C standards, including Members large and small, as well as
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the public. W3C processes promote fairness, responsiveness, and
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progress: all facets of the W3C <a href="mission">mission</a>.</p>
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<p>In August 2011, W3C created <a href="http://www.w3.org/community/">Community and Business Groups</a> with a lighter-weight <a href="http://www.w3.org/community/about/agreements/">process</a> to promote innovation.</p>
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<p>See also <a href="/Consortium/Legal/">W3C legal and policy information</a>.</p>
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<h2 id="patpol">Patent Policy</h2>
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<p>In February 2004, W3C adopted a <a href="http://www.w3.org/Consortium/Patent-Policy-20040205/">Patent Policy</a> for Working Groups
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to enable continued innovation and widespread adoption of Web standards
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developed by the World Wide Web Consortium. The W3C Patent Policy
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is designed to:</p>
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<ul class="show_items"><li>Facilitate the development of W3C Recommendations by W3C Working
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Groups;</li><li>Promote the widespread implementation of those Recommendations on a Royalty-Free (RF) basis;</li><li>Address issues related to patents that arise during and after the
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development of a Recommendation.</li></ul>
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<p>In August 2011, W3C adopted a <a href="http://www.w3.org/community/about/agreements/cla/">Community Contributor License Agreement</a> with Royalty-Free patent licensing terms and permissive copyright for <a href="/community/">W3C Community and Business Groups</a>. See also the <a href="http://www.w3.org/community/about/agreements/final/">Final Specification Agreement</a>, which further increases patent protection around Community and Business Group Specifications.</p>
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<p>More resources</p>
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<ul class="show_items"><li>
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<a href="/2003/12/22-pp-faq.html">Patent Policy FAQ</a>
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</li><li>
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<a href="/2004/01/pp-impl/fact-sheet">Fact Sheet</a> (who has made commitments for the standards
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created under the policy)</li><li>
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<a href="/2004/02/05-patentsummary.html">Policy Summary</a>
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</li><li>
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<a href="/2004/03/pp-points-20040210.html">Business Benefits</a>
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</li></ul>
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<h2 id="history">History</h2>
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<p class="tPadding">In 1989, <a href="/People/Berners-Lee/">Tim Berners-Lee</a> invented the
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World Wide Web (see the <a href="http://www.w3.org/History/1989/proposal.html">original proposal</a>).
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He coined the term "World Wide Web," wrote the first World Wide Web server,
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"httpd," and the first client program (a browser and editor), "WorldWideWeb,"
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in October 1990. He wrote the first version of the "HyperText Markup
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Language" (<acronym>HTML</acronym>), the document formatting language with
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the capability for hypertext links that became the primary publishing format
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for the Web. His initial specifications for URIs, HTTP, and HTML were refined
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and discussed in larger circles as Web technology spread. </p>
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<div style="float:left">
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<p>
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<a href="/2004/09/W3C10.html">
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<img class="w3c_image" src="/2004/12/W3C10-Photos/Set.jpg" width="300" height="225" alt="Some of the individuals involved in the creation of the Web and of W3C recount key events at the Tenth Anniversary Celebration of W3C" />
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</a>
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<br />
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<a href="/2004/09/W3C10.html">W3C10</a> panel recounts early Web history.</p>
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</div>
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<p>In October 1994, Tim Berners-Lee founded the World
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Wide Web Consortium (W3C) at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology,
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Laboratory for Computer Science [MIT/LCS] in collaboration with <a href="http://www.cern.ch/">CERN</a>, where the Web originated (see
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information on the <a href="http://www.w3.org/Daemon/">original CERN
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Server</a>), with support from DARPA and the <a href="http://europa.eu.int/">European Commission</a>. In April 1995, <a href="http://www.inria.fr/">INRIA
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(Institut National de Recherche en Informatique et Automatique)</a> became
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the first European W3C host, followed by <a href="http://www.keio.ac.jp/">Keio University of Japan</a> (Shonan Fujisawa
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Campus) in Asia in 1996.
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In 2003, <a href="http://www.ercim.org/">ERCIM
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(European Research Consortium in Informatics and Mathematics)</a> took over
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the role of European W3C Host from INRIA.</p>
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<div class="line" style="clear: left">
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<div class="unit size1on2">
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<h3>More history resources</h3>
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<ul class="show_items"><li>
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<a href="/News/archive">W3C News Archive</a>
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</li><li>
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<a href="/Press/">Press Release Archive</a>
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</li><li>
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<a href="/TR/tr-date-stds.html">W3C Standards by Date</a>
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</li><li>
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<a href="/2004/09/W3C10.html">W3C's Tenth Anniversary</a>
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</li><li>
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<a href="/History.html">A Little Web History</a>
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</li></ul>
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</div>
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<div class="unit size1on2 lastUnit">
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<p>
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<a href="http://www.w3.org/2005/01/timelines/timeline-2500x998.png">
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<img class="w3c_image" src="/2005/01/timelines/timeline-thumbnail.png" alt="W3C time line" />
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</a>
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</p>
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<p>
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<a href="/2004/09/W3C10.html">W3C10</a> Time Line Graphic<br />
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(<a href="http://www.w3.org/2005/01/timelines/">other formats</a> and <a href="http://www.w3.org/2005/01/timelines/description">description</a>)</p>
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</div>
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</div>
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</div>
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<div class="unit size1on4 lastUnit w3c_rhs">
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<h2 class="h4 category">W3C Community</h2>
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<ul class="theme right-list">
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<li><a href="/People/">Staff</a></li>
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<li><a href="/Consortium/Offices">Offices Program</a></li>
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<li><a href="/Consortium/Member/List">W3C Members</a></li>
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<li><a href="/community/">Community and Business Groups</a></li>
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<li><a href="/2004/01/pp-impl/">Group Participation</a></li>
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</ul>
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<h2 class="h4 category">Reference Documents</h2>
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<ul class="theme right-list"><li>
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<a href="/Consortium/Process">Process Document</a>
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</li><li>
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<a href="/Consortium/Patent-Policy-20040205/">Patent Policy</a>
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</li><li>
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<a href="/2005/03/Member-Agreement">Member Agreement</a>
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</li><li>
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<a href="/Consortium/Legal/">Policies and Legal</a>
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</li></ul>
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</div>
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</div>
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</div>
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</div>
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</div>
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</div><div id="w3c_footer">
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<div id="w3c_footer-inner">
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<h2 class="offscreen">Footer Navigation</h2>
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<div class="w3c_footer-nav">
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<h3>Navigation</h3>
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<ul class="footer_top_nav"><li>
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<a href="/">Home</a>
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</li><li>
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<a href="/standards/">Standards</a>
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</li><li>
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<a href="/participate/">Participate</a>
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</li><li>
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<a href="/Consortium/membership">Membership</a>
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</li><li class="last-item">
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<a href="/Consortium/">About W3C</a>
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</li></ul>
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</div>
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<div class="w3c_footer-nav">
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<h3>Contact W3C</h3>
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<ul class="footer_bottom_nav"><li>
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<a href="/Consortium/contact">Contact</a>
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</li><li>
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<a accesskey="0" href="/Help/">Help and FAQ</a>
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</li><li>
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<a href="/Consortium/sup">Donate</a>
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</li><li>
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<a href="/Consortium/siteindex">Site Map</a>
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</li><li>
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<address id="w3c_signature">
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<a href="mailto:site-comments@w3.org">Feedback</a> (<a href="http://lists.w3.org/Archives/Public/site-comments/">archive</a>)</address>
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</li></ul>
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</div>
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<div class="w3c_footer-nav">
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<h3>W3C Updates</h3>
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<ul class="footer_follow_nav"><li>
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<a href="http://twitter.com/W3C" title="Follow W3C on Twitter">
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<img src="/2008/site/images/twitter-bird" alt="Twitter" width="78" height="83" class="social-icon" />
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</a>
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<a href="http://identi.ca/w3c" title="See W3C on Identica">
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<img src="/2008/site/images/identica-logo" alt="Identica" width="91" height="83" class="social-icon" />
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</a>
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</li></ul>
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</div>
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<p class="copyright">Copyright © 2012 W3C <sup>®</sup> (<a href="http://www.csail.mit.edu/">
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<acronym title="Massachusetts Institute of Technology">MIT</acronym>
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</a>, <a href="http://www.ercim.org/">
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<acronym title="European Research Consortium for Informatics and Mathematics"> ERCIM</acronym>
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</a>, <a href="http://www.keio.ac.jp/">Keio</a>) <a href="/Consortium/Legal/ipr-notice">Usage policies apply</a>.</p>
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