this post was submitted on 11 Jun 2026
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Their point about OOXML has traditionally been that the format that Microsoft Office itself produces has never once matched the standardized standard they ratified. So Microsoft used it to check a box on some requirements sheet and muddy the waters (like this), but anyone actually following the standard would not have achieved actual cross compatibility with the massive gorilla in the space. But because it's "Microsoft's format" any issues would have felt like bugs in LibreOffice rather than bugs in Microsoft Office. In contrast the standardized ODF actually matches the ODF you find in practice.
That all having been said, I stopped paying attention to that whole scene a while ago, so I don't know what the current situation is, or if that still applies. It's possible later version of MSOffice actually moved to the standard version at some point, or that the standard was updated to match what MSOffice actually reads and writes. Possible, but I just don't know.
It's a poorly designed standard without a doubt. But it is the format people use, and no one who uses it is paying Microsoft (including LibreOffice).
Whinging about people using it is not the way to make useful software.
I basically agree with you, but I'm also a little pedantic, so I'll also say that if the standard format isn't the format MSOffice outputs, then the standard format isn't the format everyone is using, they're using a similar but incompatibly different format. And so if there's an opportunity to pick what the standard must be going forwards, and the actual true OOXML spec has effectively zero users, and what MSOffice outputs isn't an open standard, then you might as well pick ODF which has more than zero users and is standardized.
But again, this is moot if the thing MSOffice outputs is actually actually OOXML now.
I believe they are using a modified version, not 100% sure. But in my opinion they should let the user decide on install.
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47559056
I honestly blame ISO they should have never approved this format. https://www.ip-watch.org/2008/04/01/office-open-xml-officially-approved-as-international-standard/
There is evidence of intent behind some of those poor design choices.