Re: [alac] FW: Review and Recommendations for Internationalized Domain Names (IDNs)

[John L <johnl@xxxxxxxx>]

> 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.

Trust me, you're wrong.

Perhaps this would be a good time to learn about previous efforts to 
extend the DNS in ways much less controversial and difficult than IDNs, 
and why they haven't worked.  Is the name EDNS0 familiar?  It should be to 
anyone concerned with DNS issues.


> 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.

I entirely agree that with 25 years of hindsight, it should be possible to 
design a name resolution system that works much better than the DNS, and I 
would be thrilled if people were to design such a system and get it to be 
as widely used as the DNS. Among other things, it would make ICANN 
irrelevant since ICANN's only importance is its influence over the DNS. 
Considering how much everyone hates ICANN, why do you think this hasn't 
happened yet?

> 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.

There is no lack of resources for people who choose to educate themselves 
about the technical limitations of the DNS and the reasons that extending 
it to languages with more complex written forms than English is really 
difficult if you want those extensions to work.  Having many people at a 
table will not make those problems any easier.

I have trouble understanding why you choose to denigrate people who have 
educated themselves about the issues rather than spending some time 
educating yourself.  I realize it is frustrating to be told that a complex 
problem does not have a simple solution, but shooting the messenger 
doesn't help.

R's,
John