Help Make Standards Fun and Useful!

Jo Cook | Data and Metadata Wrangler

pxhere, CC-0

Why am I here?

I represent the AGI Standards Working Group- we look after the UK Gemini metadata standard and sit on IST36, the committee for geospatial digital standards at the BSI

What do we do?

We're responsible for making and looking after British standards related to GIS, and we collaborate with other bodies like OGC and GDS

What we actually do

We ensure that the written standards are high quality and unambiguous, implementable, and relevant

Wikimedia: Kevregourez - CC BY-SA 4.0

It's not all about this sort of thing 👈

Who's currently thinking something like this?

We promote best practices

And try to modernise the standards

We removed the Fax Number as a mandatory metadata element in UK Gemini, saving a lot of people minor irritation

Flickr:reallynuts CC BY 2.0

And...

... we're revising BS7666 in line with modern GIS and addressing needs

citymagazine.si

Standards are definitely useful

With real world (or space) consequences

Public Domain

But "fun"?

ChatGPT said I should tell you that standards stop pikachu from spawning in the ocean, and that they allow you to while away your time competing in GeoGuessr 🤷‍♀️

mic.com

Help us!

We need people with experience, or interest in how the standards are implemented in software, or used in real life

Flickr: the paw pad CC BY 2.0

Let's also stop people reinventing the wheel

XKCD

Interested? Even just a little bit?

If you'd like to get involved, then email the AGI at info@agi.org.uk and ask about the standards group, or come and find me 😀

Negative Space: Curious House Cat CC 0