View source for W3C

{{CompanyInfo|
| logo            = W3Clogo.png
| type            = 
| industry        = 
| founded         = 1993
| founder(s)      = [[Tim Berners-Lee]]
| purchase        =
| ownership       =
| headquarters    =32 Vassar Street<br>
Room 32-G515<br>
Cambridge, MA 02139<br>
UNITED STATES
| country         =
| products        =
| employees       =>100
| revenue         =
| businesses      =
| website         = [http://www.w3.org/ W3.org]
| keypeople       =[[Jeffrey Jaffe]], CEO
| twitter         =
}}

The '''World Wide Web Consortium''' ('''W3C''') is an international community where web standards are developed by a hired staff that works together with member organizations and the public. <ref>[http://www.w3.org/Consortium/ W3C definition]</ref>

==Overview==
The W3C was founded in 1994 by [[Tim Berners-Lee]]. Its mission is to develop protocol and guidelines for the long-term growth of the WWW, in order to bring out its fullest potential. The W3C facilitates participation, involvement, sharing knowledge, and building trust at a global level. It enjoys the support of  many important industries and organizations.

==W3C Standards==
W3C laid the foundations for the WWW with the development of HTML in 1997 and XML in 1998.<ref>[http://xhtml.com/en/web-standards/what-is-w3c/ W3C standards]</ref>

Since the creation of W3C it has developed more than 90 standards, which they refer to as ''"Recommendations."'' Each of these recommendations must pass through a set of stages which is known as the '''"Recommendation Track"'' which involves: review, reformulation, and finally implementation.<ref>[http://xhtml.com/en/web-standards/what-is-w3c/ W3C standard development]</ref>

Each recommendation was developed by working groups which consist of up to 15 W3C members who have experience in the applicable field.   

A recommendation is steered by a Working Group, and must pass through the following steps (also called maturity levels):
# Working Drafts, which are fluid works-in-progress published by Working Groups to gain input from the wider community.
# Last Call for Working Draft, which notifies interested parties of the WG's intent to move the draft onto the next stage. It is a last call for external input.
# Call for Implementation. At this point, the Working Draft becomes a Candidate for Recommendation, and is reviewed for implementation as a standard.
# Call for review of proposed recommendation. At this stage, the Candidate Recommendation becomes a Proposed Recommendation, and the WG must seek a final endorsement from the Committee. Without this endorsement, the project reverts back to the Working Draft stage for further development.
# W3C Recommendation. At this stage, the W3C feels confident enough to recommend that individuals and organizations implement standard technology in their work.

==W3C members==
The overall Director of W3C is [[Tim Berners-Lee]], who is part of a management team that is supported by staff members and various interns.<ref>[http://xhtml.com/en/web-standards/what-is-w3c/ W3C membership]</ref>

As of 2011, the W3C had 326 members.<ref>[http://www.w3.org/Consortium/Member/List W3C member list]</ref> Its members are non-profit organizations, governmental entities, other types of businesses and individuals. In order to become a W3C member an application must be submitted, which will be reviewed and approved by W3C. <ref>[http://www.w3.org/Consortium/membership-faq W3C Membership FAQ]</ref>

In order to be accessible to a wide range of international organizations, W3C offers membership fees on a sliding scale dependent on annual revenue, type of business, and the location of the organization's headquarters.<ref>[http://www.w3.org/Consortium/fees W3C membership fees]</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

[[Category: Glossary]]
__NOTOC__