Membership is open to all and everyone gets an equal say.
The vast majority of members sincerely want the standard to succeed. Unfortunately, committees are also routinely populated by individuals who want the standard to fail, exacerbating an already slow progress. Closed proprietary standards , owned by a single company, are typically available only to that company's customers. The owner can evolve the standards quickly and support them well. The closed proprietary approach has produced valuable standards, including LEF and DEF, but this approach has had problems as well.