Re: [idn] universal typability

[Aaron Irvine <airvine@corp.phone.com>]

Karlsson Kent - keka wrote:

>
>
>
> > > > Example:
> > > > User types in www.gås.net
> > ...this, of course, presumes that the user has an input
> > method that permits
> > the correct encoding to be economically entered [either an
> > exact single key
> > for the accented vowel, or a simple multiple keystroke combination
> to
> > produce it]
>
> As it happens, å is commonly used only in the Nordic countries.
> Nearly all keyboards here have an å key.  You might need to pick
> it out of table (like in the "Unicode Character Map" utility), or
> use some code value input method (like what's described in ISO/IEC
> 14755).
>
> > > > or www.g%c3%a5s.net (or even
> > > > www.gc--3a--5s.net)
> > ...human nature being what it is, I doubt either of these
> > approaches would
> > be welcomed by most users because it violates the principle
> > of economical key entry
>
> Not only that, but very few would have clue as to why it looked
> like that. Most people would just consider it to be garbage.

Well, %c3%a5 is going to happen in URI path names, so I guess people
will get used to it.  If they 'accepted' http:// then %c3%a5 will
probably be accepted also.  (It's interesting that MSIE has started to
implement %HH escaping in hostnames already.)

>
>
> > > > The (free) transliteration could also be entered by the surfer:
> > > > www.gaas.net
> > >
> > > User might reluctantly type that.  (B.t.w. 'gås' means 'goos',
> > > while 'gaas' means 'gaas'.)
> > >
> > ...suppose that the user has available a browser that can
> > correctly display
> > the language of the web site and is sufficiently fluent at reading
> the
> > language that the content and presentation are not an issue.  If an
> > ASCII-ized URL name is registered by the site owner, why
> > would a user be reluctant to use it?
>
> Because "gaas" looks darn silly!  As does "spraaket@sr.se".
> "Språket" (as it should really be) means "the language" (it's
> the e-mail address for a language program). "Spraaket" would be
> kind of "the spaarkle" or "the fiizz", or similar.  It's just
> considered silly.  Finding a non-silly ASCII alternative
> (without translating to English) can be difficult.  However,
> a silly ASCII alternative is better than something nearly
> everyone would consider to be garbled and useless.

Yes but I still believe some people won't bother registering (silly)
transliterations if they have to pay extra for them.

>
>
> > For example, look at www.ntt.com.  "NTT" is the
> > established corporate identity of Nippon Denshin Denwa, and
> > although the
> > Latin alphabet certainly does not convey the same meaning as
> > do the kanji
> > for the name, NTT is certainly well-understood to a wide audience.
>
> That is for a globally known company, and some compromises
> may need to be made for the global audience.  Like for
> "Skanska" (the building and construction company): it used
> to be called "Skånska cementgjuteriet".  The name change was
> considered silly at the time, but the new name does work
> better globally.
>
>                 Kind regards
>                 /kent k

Regards,
Aaron Irvine.
--

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Aaron Irvine
  mailto:airvine@corp.phone.com
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