[idn] [Fwd: [minc-arabic] Arabic WG Minutes.]

[James Seng <James@Seng.cc>]

fyi.

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: [minc-arabic] Arabic WG Minutes.
Date: Sun, 23 Jul 2000 01:20:03 -0400 (EDT)
From: Jarallah Aljarallah <jarallah@email.com>
To: arabic@minc.org

Dear MINC Arabic WG participants of Jul 18th,

Attached is the Ykohama meeting minutes. We welcome any comments or
corrections. The revised version of the minutes will be posted on
www.minc.org/WG/arabic later on this week.

Regards,
Jarallah Aljarallah  
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Arabic WG minutes
18 Jul 2000 10:00 -12:00
Intercontinental 2906

Participant:
Saleem Al-Balooshi <saleemmb@emirates.net.ae> UAEnic
Jarallah Aljarallah <jarallah@email.com> ADNS
Sultan Alshamsy <sultan76@emirates.net.ae>UAEnic
Peter Batchehr <peter.batchehr@melbourneit.com.au> MelbourneIT Ltd.
Gitanjai Jahwar <gita@bic.nus.edu.sg> MINC
Tan Tin Wee <tinwee@pobox.org.sg> NUS
Khalid Sossi <khalid@qroute.net> Qroute
Wael Nasr < wael.nasr@i-dns.net > I-dns
James Sing < james@I-dns.net > I-dns
Zakaria Ould Amar <Zakaria@deyloul.univ-nkc.mr> Ph.D. University of
Nouakchott
 
1) Introducing everybody.

2) Launching of the Arabic Working Group officially as part of MINC.

3) Agenda bashing
 	Approved

4) Introduction about MINC.

5) Discussion on the Arabic WG charter:
The objective of the Arabic WG, which is part of MINC, is to coordinate
efforts to develop and deploy Arabic Domain Names system and
applications. This non-commercial coordination includes providing users
with the capability of using Arabic language and its standard characters
set to write domain names in Arabic and navigate the Internet.

6) Discussion about folding in Arabic:
The goal is to come up with a solution that preserves the Arabic
Language Integrity and maps the current DNS structure. The solution has
to be compatible with the current DNS and scalable. A solution that
anticipates future obstacles and problems.
* Current ASCII DNS:
Root			.
1st level domain		ae
2nd Level domain		net
3rd Level domain		emirates
4th Level domain		www
       The result is: www.emirates.net.ae
*There is an agreement on the following issues:
1. The general rule for folding is to fold variations of the same
character such as folding small and capital letters since they have the
same etymological meaning. Therefore, folding should not be considered
for different characters.
2. The Arabic Language rules should be followed with no consideration of
typing mistakes or misspellings.
3. Since Ya’ (í) and Alif Maqsoura (ì) are two different characters and
have different meanings, they should not be considered for folding.
4. However, the Ta’ marbouta (É) and the Ha’ (å) should not be
considered for folding unless they are at the end of a word. In which
case, linguists have to be consulted to solve this matter.
 
7) Discussion about spaces:
Spaces are not used in the existing English domain names. Also, spaces
and the underscore “_” are technically troublesome. Therefore, a dash or
a hyphen  “-” can be used to separate words in the Arabic domain names.

8) Discussion about the ccTLD:
There were different opinions in this regard. The purpose is to come up
with a solution that is meaningful and useful. Some people suggested
using the Arabic UN country codes. Others suggested a transliteration of
the English ccTLDs. Others suggested variable length codes.

As a result of the discussion, a research has to be done that looks into
proposed solutions and study the pros and cons of each one of them. The
study has to consult with linguists and look into past work in this
regard such as the ISO3166. 

9) Discussion about the gTLD:
The purpose is to help people get into the Internet by providing a
meaningful and useful solution. Therefore, the one-letter gTLD such as  
ãæÞÚ.ÇäÊÑäÊ.Ô did not win the attendees’ satisfaction. 
One of the proposed solutions is:
ãæÞÚ.ÇáÎáíÌ.ãÌáÉ.ÃÚ

10) Election of the chairs
The interim chair: Saleem Al-Balooshi <saleemmb@emirates.net.ae> UAEnic
Co-chairs: Saleem Al-Balooshi <saleemmb@emirates.net.ae> UAEnic		 
Zakaria Ould Amar < Zakaria@deyloul.univ-nkc.mr > Ph.D. University of
Nouakchott.

11) Discussion about the action plan including Dubai Workshop:
The Interim chair is going to look into arranging the next Arabic WG
meeting in November in Dubai.
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