XML I'd think would be easier to agree on as a scout system (i.e. other teams won't start adding categories to it without getting everyone else in on it). We could have a centralized DTD or something, at CD maybe?
And if someone has a suggestion for the system, we just change the way a scouting file is read by altering the DTD. For example, if some new thing of note comes up, like how last year 'go-home devices' were all the rage, we'd just alter the DTD to add that category. That's probably the only way we could make and maintain a true standard. No XML experience isn't much of a problem; it's fairly easy to learn (assuming you know HTML syntax).
On the other hand, there's nothing really wrong with the CSV suggestion. The advantage to that is that anyone could learn it in a second. Am I making sense?