Re: [idn] Unicode tagging

["Edmon" <edmon@neteka.com>]

At 11:30 AM -0400 8/16/00, Edmon wrote:
> >uniform byte-length characters are extremely beneficial to DNS and we
should
> >try to preserve it in the protocol.
>
> Could you elaborate on why this is true? In the applications that
> mandate using UTF-8, no one has been unable to implement it.
>

The reason as I have indicated is the need to have a character count.

> >We dont know whether some day we might go beyond UCS-4.
>
> This is just plain silly. In fact, it is likely that we will only
> need a tiny fraction of the space allowed by UCS-4, and there are
> moves by ISO to make that clear.
>

I dont think we want to be too sure.  We see today how difficult it is to go
from ASCII to multilingual, it is our responsibility to create a system that
will be useful and flexible for the future.

> >But we also have to understand that domain names are no longer simple
text
> >commands over the internet... it is part of a company's brand and
> >identity... We have the responsibility to let people have the names they
> >really want...
>
> Nope, stop right there. We have a responsibility to keep the Internet
> running well. Once we have fulfilled that responsibility, we have
> another one to stretch out in ways that meet desires and still keeps
> the Internet running as well (or better) than it did before. If
> someone wants to use a name that will hurt the running of the
> Internet, we have a responsibility to tell them "no". If someone
> wants us to stretch into regions we have not had time to analyze for
> things like security implications, we have the responsibility to tell
> them "no".

I totally agree with you.  Of course it must be a given that the technology
can handle it... My major concern are arbitrary restrictions that create
technically unnecessary constraints.  The worry that people might be
confused about some similar characters should not be a concern for the WG.
I however agree that there probably are some neccessary guidelines we might
be able to come up with, however,  In any case, we should make sure that any
name should be able to be sent out and verification of existence done only
after going through the DNS.

Edmon