[August 24, 2001] Technical Committee Charter: "The HumanMarkup TC is set forth to develop the HumanML and associated specifications. HumanML is designed to represent human characteristics through XML. The aim is to enhance the fidelity of human communication. HumanML is set forth to be an XML Schema and RDF Schema specification, containing sets of modules which frame and embed contextual human characteristics including physical, cultural, social, kinesic, psychological, and intentional features within conveyed information. Other efforts within the scope of the HumanMarkup TC include messaging, style, alternate schemas, constraint mechanisms, object models, and repository systems, which will address the overall concerns of both representing and amalgamating human information within data. Examples of human characteristics include emotions, physical descriptors, proxemics, kinesics, haptics, intentions, and attitude. Applications of HumanML include agents of various types, AI systems, virtual reality, psychotherapy, online negotiations, facilitations, dialogue, and conflict resolution systems."
[March 06, 2001] On March 6, 2001, an OASIS mailing list was established for discussion of HumanML. OASIS mailing list: [Karl Best writes:] "Upon request by three eligible participants, I have created an OASIS Discussion List whose purpose is to discuss the possible creation of an OASIS Technical Committee. This list will exist for no longer than 90 days, after which time a TC may be formed or not. The scope of discussion is the Human Markup Language (HumanML), which addresses issues discussed in the appended message below. The persons requesting the creation of this list are: (1) Ranjeeth Kumar Thunga (Individual member), rkthunga@humanmarkup.org; (2) Emmanuil Batsis (Individual member), m.batsis@bsnet.gr; (3) Joseph Norris (Individual member), joetheteacher@hotmail.com. The discussion leader will be Ranjeeth Kumar Thunga. In order to participate in this discussion you should subscribe to the discussion list by sending a message to humanml-discuss-request@lists.oasis-open.org with the word "subscribe" as the body of the message. If you do not wish to subscribe, but wish to view the discussion you may view the list archives at http://lists.oasis-open.org/archives/humanml-discuss.
From the 2001-02-28 description:
A communiqué from Ranjeeth Kumar Thunga invites all interested parties to "join in the discussion group for the Human Markup Language (HumanML). The initiative is an XML-based non-proprietary endeavor, open to the contributions of all parties interested in helping define human XML standards. These standards include various aspects of human communication process through markup, including 'gestures', 'thoughts', 'emotions', and 'attitudes'. The project has a goal of "enriching human communications and reducing human misunderstanding" through explicit mechanisms to represent paralinguistic features of human communication. The markup initiative would "provide a trusted means to markup the interpretive process. (1) Reduce miscommunication through a standard framework of referents to descriptions of emotional states (2) Enhance communication by enabling emotional states to be identified and used to query if requests and responses do not conform to predicted ranges for sequence and frequency within a genre. (3) Create communication through authoring tools that use genre-based schema to organize sequences and frequencies of emotional expressions."
The HumanMarkup.org mission is "To promote XML standards that will reduce human misunderstanding in society... through the explicit markup of various communication constructs including thought, emotion, purpose, and motivation."
"HumanML concerns itself with the 'human' aspects of communication, but that will be insufficient circumscription since anything done with markup has a human aspect. I suspect we will find the sweet spot in the markup and authoring of genre at the high organizational end, and gestures at the primitives with emotional states being the middle level . Unlike TEI, we are not exclusively focused on texts; we are taking on the challenge of emotional descriptions to enable transformation into rendered versions and annotation for stored versions. In short, provide a trusted means to markup the interpretive process. (1) Reduce miscommunication through a standard framework of referents to descriptions of emotional states (2) Enhance communication by enabling emotional states to be identified and used to query if requests and responses do not conform to predicted ranges for sequence and frequency within a genre. (3) Create communication through authoring tools that use genre-based schema to organize sequences and frequencies of emotional expressions..." [February 26, 2001 post to Yahoo Groups 'humanmarkup' mailing list.]
Another example, from Len Bullard, on the Yahoo discussion: "...Because sometimes the interpretation depends on the intonation to select the connotation and all depend on the medium to render correctly. For example, when you are trying to concisely convey to your child that putting their hand on the stove burner is not going to feel good, you might want to <strong>YELL AT THEM!!!!</STRONG> in HTML or in a VRML/X3D speech processor, send a volume control command to the text-to-voice engine, plus instruct the avatar head to orientation interpolate toward the center of the head of the child avatar and position interpolate toward their XYZ value in the global coordinate system. In both of these the common sign is one for immediate danger. <WARNING />..."
Other excerpts: "shallow markup [to support] dependent origination as a system based on feedback which shapes response which shapes behavior which shapes feedback. The ideal of HumanML is to make that precise by providing a negotiable framework of expressive types"; "the potential of XML to encode allusion, intent, inference, and meaning within the context of the written word of eBooks"; "Collect and categorize gestural sets...(1) proxemic: spatial relationships -- how close to the person do you stand when speaking, do you stand over them, etc.; (2) haptic: overt physical gestures -- handshake, smiles, etc; (3) kinsesic: non-overt physical gestures such as maintaining eye contact (4) artifacts: clothing, jewelry, makeup, etc. (5) textual/graphic: any written or drawn sign. Determine other relationships or qualities; address various areas of XML and human expression/communication through an encoding of 'baseline states' for attitude: internal human states/traits (Emotional, Sentiment Intentions, Attitude, Flexibility Personality), gestural representations, acknowledgements, etc."
From the Yahoo Groups 'humanmarkup' mailing list description: "This Yahoo Group has been formed to discuss and direct the 'humanmarkup' endeavor. This is a open non-proprietary effort to standardize Human Expression through XML. These aspects include various human traits including thoughts, emotions, gestures, motivations and attitude. All Members: Feel free to contribute in whatever fashion you can and jump right in. Don't hesitate, even if you are joining a thread midstream, don't have time for full involvement, concerned something may have already been mentioned, or are still gaining a conceptual understanding. If you would like, ask us individually any questions you may have. This Yahoo Group precedes, and will exist in conjunction with, the upcoming official OASIS Discussion List and Technical Committee, as a general forum for ideas setting the humanmarkup standards. This group will not only discuss the details of the standard, but also the practical issues involved in steering this effort. As owner, I am simply coordinating this effort--the ultimate success is up to the contributions of each member. I encourage interested parties to handle various roles in this effort. It is important to mention although ultimately linked, there are several layers within human expression and traits. These may likely be individual modules within 'humanmarkup'."
[August 23, 2001] "OASIS Members Form Technical Committee to Develop Human Markup Language." - "OASIS, the XML interoperability consortium, today announced its members have formed the OASIS HumanMarkup Technical Committee (TC) to develop and promote a specification for conveying human characteristics through XML. The Human Markup Language (HumanML) will embed contextual human characteristics (cultural, social, kinesic, psychological and intentional features) within information. Applications include artificial intelligence, virtual reality, conflict resolution, psychotherapy, art, workflow, advertising, cultural dialogue, agent systems, diplomacy and business negotiation. 'HumanML offers the potential to reduce misinterpretation and allows people to express themselves more deeply,' explained Ranjeeth Kumar Thunga, chair of the OASIS HumanMarkup TC. 'Employing the same infrastructure and technology used in business-to-business transactions, HumanML lets us define and elucidate the various subtle, complex human processes involved in communication. Using HumanML, we can substantially reduce interpersonal and intersocietal conflicts associated with the inadequate conveyance of human traits and expression.' Other efforts within the scope of the OASIS HumanMarkup TC will include messaging, style, alternate schemas, constraint mechanisms, object models, and repository systems, which address overall concerns of representing and amalgamating human information within data. 'HumanML is an exciting example of the breadth of technical work being undertaken by OASIS members. Unlike standards bodies that dictate direction through a central authority, OASIS offers an open technical agenda that is set by our members themselves,' commented Karl Best, director of technical operations for OASIS. 'HumanML extends the use of XML into totally new arenas and offers the potential to affect the way we communicate with one another.' Participation in the OASIS HumanMarkup TC is open to all employees of OASIS member companies and all OASIS individual members..."
References:
Contact: Ranjeeth Kumar Thunga
