They are only part of the solution however because:
- Open-source projects are developed by volunteers, and implement what their users (actually typically their developers) want implemented. Having a document that says "you should implement these things" is good for guidance, but it doesn't magically get them implemented.
- Commercial projects will implement the things that they can get revenue from. Having a document that says "you should implement these things" doesn't magically make those things earn the company money.
E.g. in the open-source category, Pidgin is the classic example of a once-popular client that has fallen behind (with feature requests for some "new" protocol features open on their bug tracker for many many years). The document doesn't fix this part.
But yes, I do agree it's an essential part of solving the problem.
One can dream anyway.