When trying to access an information asset created by an OASIS Technical Committee and uploaded to the OASIS document repository, you may be challenged to enter a user name and password. The OASIS Technical Committee Process requires that all work of any technical committee must always be publicly available. So where’s the disconnect?

Like many content content creation systems, the software in use by OASIS Technical Committees was designed around a notion of “workgroups” where only those who are part of the group can view the information stored. When an information asset of any kind is uploaded into the document repository, a URI is generated in the following format:

http://www.oasis-open.org/apps/org/workgroup/{tc-abbreviation}/
download.php/{uid}/{filename}

where:

• {tc-abbreviation} represents the short name of the technical committee (i.e. dita),
• {uid} represents a 5-digit unique identifier, and
• {filename} represents the actual name of the information asset.

This URI is only accessible by OASIS members; that is, someone with an OASIS login and password.

There’s a little trick that will convert any URI in the format above into one that is publicly accessible. Replace “apps/org/workgroup/{tc-abbreviation}/” with “committees” and the resource will become accessible by all.

http://www.oasis-open.org/committees/
download.php/{uid}/{filename}

If you are passing along a URI for information that has been uploaded into the document repository, please be sure to use the publicly-accessible version. If you are trying to access a document but are asked to enter a user name and password, convert the URI to bypass the challenge.

NOTE: All information assets uploaded to the OASIS Library (docs.oasis-open.org) are publicly accessible; there is no notion of “workgroup.”