How does the W3C operate internally, anyway?
The W3C has a full-blown Process Document that explains how it operates. The short version is: Final decision-making power rests with the Director, who relies on the consensus of members to create documents. The Director, in consultation with the membership, has the power to set up Activities and working groups within them to address new areas, and these working groups do most of the standards development. (The current Director invented the World Wide Web, but expecting him to continue inventing it all by himself is asking a lot.) Working groups (WGs) do most of the standards development, producing documents on a regular basis. Working groups are given charters (sometimes public, sometimes private) for the work they are to do, and usually publish activity statements as well. In some fields, there is one working group for a given activity, while in others there are many. While the W3C encourages small Working Groups, larger groups, even some enormous ones, persist. The XML Activity stat
