Slowstandard

Slowstandard is a term used to describe a philosophy and practice of developing and adopting technical or organizational standards at a deliberate, time-consuming pace. Proponents argue that this approach prioritizes interoperability, long-term stability, and inclusive governance over rapid but brittle changes. The concept is a neologism that echoes slow-movement ideas in culture and technology, rather than a formal specification or institution.

Core idea: extend review periods; emphasize backward compatibility; modular design; open, transparent decision-making; broad stakeholder engagement; deliberate deprecation schedules; long-term stewardship of data formats and interfaces.

Applications: in software and web standards, data formats, hardware interfaces, and government or industry consortia. Examples include extended public-comment cycles, staged rollouts, and explicit deprecation policies.

Benefits: reduces fragmentation, lowers maintenance costs, improves security and portability.

Criticism: can slow innovation, risk ossifying standards, may disadvantage fast-moving sectors; requires mature governance to avoid capture.

See also: standardization, governance, interoperability, slow movements.