Re: [alac] FW: Review and Recommendations for Internationalized Domain Names (IDNs)
John L ha scritto: I don't think anyone is ignoring users' wishes and expectations. The problem is that the DNS is a database, but people want it to be a search engine. Well, no, they just want a database that can support characters in their own script, which is different from wanting a search engine. But even if users wanted it to be a search engine, then engineers should just change it and make it so, or provide a reasonable alternate solution - since the purpose of technology is to suit and enable human activities and needs, not to constrain them, right? Life would be a lot easier for IDN users if it were possible to look up names with approximate matching, or have multiple versions of a single name. But the DNS does what it does, it's implemented on probably a billion computers around the world, and we are stuck with it. I'm not sure why you can't implement any of the above possibilities with new extensions to the DNS protocol, nor I see why you can't get new versions of the protocol implemented in operating systems - though I admit that I haven't followed the technical discussion, so you might prove me wrong. The problem is to figure out the best IDN we can build on top of DNS, No, sorry, the problem is that you have a functional requirement (people need to map any-script strings to IP addresses) and you have to design a technological system that meets that requirement. If it can be built on the DNS, then it's much better for everyone, but the point is enabling people to use their language for lookups on the Internet, not preserving a 25-year-old protocol at all costs. If preserving old technology was the point, we'd still be using the telegraph. Telling to half of the world "sorry, the best we can do doesn't allow you to use the Internet decently" is a valid reason for firing the people who tell you so and looking for better (or, more likely, more committed) ones, not for accepting that reply. and that is the very hard problem. I believe a large part of the problem is that few people see the whole IDN problem at once. And on this I agree. But the solution to this is bringing everyone at the same table and explaining to everyone what they're missing, not complaining that other people don't understand your engineering problems. So while the male western engineers may not understand all of the cultural issues in every country, please do not assume that they aren't giving you want you want just because they don't think it's important. It's because nobody can figure out how to do it and make it work. Ok, I didn't mean to be too nasty to the category to which you and I belong. It just struck me, how can you ever think to address such a matter, come up with a lengthy document that says what you should do or not do, and not discuss it with anyone from outside that circle? I couldn't even have thought about it. Then, the people who worked on this might be the most open minded and savvy ones, but... it just isn't the right way to do it. -- vb. [Vittorio Bertola - v.bertola [a] bertola.eu.org]<----- http://bertola.eu.org/ <- Prima o poi...
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