Funnily enough, I had ended up contributing to POSIX without trying to. I just participated in mailing list discussions and in the public bug tracker (reporting issues, commenting on tickets etc), for which I only needed to register a no-strings-attached account -- the absolute minimum for participating in any bug tracker. Unexpectedly, I got named in the "Participants" section of the standard. My head is still spinning.
It shouldn't be easy to contribute to POSIX. That shit needs some serious gatekeeping. It's not a side-project whose goal is self-actualization for all participants. The requirements get foisted on everyone and last decades.
I agree with you about the seriousness and heft of POSIX (and I definitely know your name from comp.lang.c[.moderated], so I respect your opinion); however, there is no arbitrary gate-keeping around POSIX. If anyone is willing to put in the time and effort, they're welcome to join. This couldn't be more different from other standards orgs where you can only join as a (voting, or observing) representative of an employer that pays an exorbitant yearly membership fee.
Funnily enough, I had ended up contributing to POSIX without trying to. I just participated in mailing list discussions and in the public bug tracker (reporting issues, commenting on tickets etc), for which I only needed to register a no-strings-attached account -- the absolute minimum for participating in any bug tracker. Unexpectedly, I got named in the "Participants" section of the standard. My head is still spinning.
Here are some links for you:
- SUSv2: https://pubs.opengroup.org/onlinepubs/007908775/idx/index.ht...
- SUSv3, 2004 Edition: https://pubs.opengroup.org/onlinepubs/000095399/nfindex.html
- SUSv4, 2024 Edition: https://pubs.opengroup.org/onlinepubs/9799919799/
You can find links to earlier editions of SUSv3 and SUSv4 here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Single_UNIX_Specification#Exte...
Austin CSRG landing page: https://www.opengroup.org/austin/
Join the group: https://www.opengroup.org/austin/lists.html
Bug tracker: https://austingroupbugs.net/view_all_bug_page.php
I don't know where the SUSv1 PDFs are, I have local copies; but in 2025, they're at best of historical interest.