For a long time it was unclear as to whether there would be any standards, when they might possibly be introduced, what shape they would take, who would formulate them, where they would apply, and so on and so on.
Pendant longtemps, on ne savait pas si l’on en arriverait à des normes, quand elles pourraient être introduites, quelle forme elles prendraient, qui les formulerait, où elles s’appliqueraient, etc., etc.