The paper attempts to contribute to a better understanding of how standards actually emerge, by having a closer look at what is going on inside standards setting committees. It discusses the results of a study of long-standing members of committees in charge of standardizing electronic messaging systems, from ISO, ITU, and the IETF. I will look at who they are, where they come from, which roles they assume during the process, how they perceive this process, and what they feel actually influences its final outcome, i.e. the standard.