Sample Non-English Domains Coming Soon - IDN Forums

DavyBUK · #1 10-04-2007, 07:26 PM

Edit - just realised this is the AP story that has been used by the IHT in RD's thread "It Starts" so if you've read that please ignore this one

NEW YORK (AP) — Sample addresses in nearly a dozen languages will be added to the Internet's central directories as early as next week, paving the way for Web surfers around the world to get online without knowing any English.

At this point, the 11 domain names are meant primarily for software developers and Web site designers to test the new system, but they are the first such names entered in the 13 key domain name directories, known as root servers, after years of discussions and limited-access tests.

If the global tests go well, non-English domain names could be in use by the end of 2008.

Users outside the United States long have clamored for non-English domain-name scripts, finding restrictive the current limitation to the letters a through z, the numbers 0 through 9 and the hyphen.

It is sometimes possible to create addresses in foreign languages, but the suffix — the ".com" part of an address — must use English characters. So the current tests involve non-English suffixes.

The 11 suffixes now under review will read "test" in Arabic, Persian, simplified Chinese, traditional Chinese, Russian, Hindi, Greek, Korean, Yiddish, Japanese and Tamil.

They were chosen based on the online communities that have expressed the most interest in and need for non-English domains, said Tina Dam, director of the Internationalized Domain Names program for the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, known as ICANN, which oversees Internet addressing policies.

U.S. authorities are still reviewing the suffixes. They are expected to approve the test versions next week, and the tests will begin after that.

On Oct. 15, ICANN plans to unveil mechanisms for individuals and businesses to try out the new suffixes. They won't be able to register domain names, but will be able to create Web sites and pass around non-English Web links. They will also be able to try locally popular Web browsers, beyond the major ones already tested.

Everyone in the world will essentially be invited to try to break the new system, Dam said. A 24-hour hot line is being established to allow ICANN to quickly suspend the test if any problems might disrupt other domains such as ".com" and ".uk."

The technology for the root servers themselves will not change. ICANN and the standards-setting Internet Engineering Task Force have instead developed techniques — using a system known as Punycode — for software to convert the non-English domains into codes using only the 37 characters now permitted.

Among major browsers, only the one from Opera Software ASA fully implements Punycode, Dam said.

Users of Microsoft Corp.'s Internet Explorer, Mozilla's Firefox and Apple Inc.'s Safari should be able to get to the Web sites, she said, but until developers finish their work, portions of the Web address may appear in English characters even after being entered in another language.

E-mail applications and Web-based mail systems ultimately will have to recognize Punycode as well. Approval of that technology is expected by year's end.

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5h...uk_6wD8S2ICQG0

Rubber Duck · #2 10-04-2007, 07:29 PM

No worries.

At least you research stories. Half the bloody forum cannot even be bothered to read them!

drbiohealth · #3 10-05-2007, 12:48 AM

Dead men walking?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rubber Duck

At least you research stories. Half the bloody forum cannot even be bothered to read them!

bwhhisc · #4 10-05-2007, 01:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DavyBUK

If the global tests go well, non-English domain names could be in use by the end of 2008.

How about....If the global tests go well, non-English domain extensions can join idn.com idn.net etc by the end of 2008!

oreviews · #5 10-25-2007, 06:58 AM

Non-English Domains are great.

markits · #6 10-25-2007, 07:02 AM

What is non-English domain?

Rubber Duck · #7 10-25-2007, 07:09 AM

Don't worry. The average American's Geography is so poor it remains one of the great mysteries how they navigate home from work!

burnsinternet · #8 10-25-2007, 07:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rubber Duck

Don't worry. The average American's Geography is so poor it remains one of the great mysteries how they navigate home from work!

F Off, Duck. The bloody Brits fought 'to keep China British' and can never be seen as the historic bastion of multiculturalism. Any bad habits we Americans learned, we learned from you Brits. Start bashing your own bloody island.

Rubber Duck · #9 10-25-2007, 07:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by burnsinternet

F Off, Duck. The bloody Brits fought 'to keep China British' and can never be seen as the historic bastion of multiculturalism. Any bad habits we Americans learned, we learned from you Brits. Start bashing your own bloody island.

We have a colonial past. It is both a help and a hinderance in the modern era but Britain is now at ease with itself in the World.

The US was openly against colonialism but was in the process of building a form of Neo-Colonialism that was in many way even more damaging than the original European Model. This era is coming to an end, and just as with Britain, the US is going to have to undergo a massive reajustment. Coke and a Big Mac is just not going to preserve that global hegomony. The huge advantages extracted by making everyone trade in dollars is about to unravel. The bottom line is the US is going to have to slog it out in the commercial world blow for blow with few if any built in trading advantages. It is already tough and it is going to get a lot tougher as other nations claw their way up the value chain.

thegenius1 · #10 10-25-2007, 07:30 AM

...

burnsinternet · #11 10-25-2007, 07:31 AM

I believe that a whole lot of people out there would prefer our cultural hegemony to the old British colonialism. I hear it was rather brutal and dehumanizing?

Atlanta's own Coca Cola Company probably can't compare with some British trading companies of the past.

Apples and oranges.

Pass the popcorn, genius....

thegenius1 · #12 10-25-2007, 07:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by burnsinternet

Pass the popcorn, genius....

Here ya go .... http://www.freesmileys.org/emo/ad/popcorn.gif

jacksonm · #13 10-25-2007, 07:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by burnsinternet

F Off, Duck. The bloody Brits fought 'to keep China British' and can never be seen as the historic bastion of multiculturalism. Any bad habits we Americans learned, we learned from you Brits. Start bashing your own bloody island.

Jerry, I think that we Americans all know just how bad the average American's understanding of the world outside of the USA borders really is, excluding of course that small percentage of us who travel or study extensively. The prevailing attitude has been and will be that if it doesn't happen to Americans inside of America, then it pretty much doesn't need to concern us and big media doesn't report it within US borders.

Take an unlabeled map of Europe and ask 10 random American people on the street to show you Germany, France, and Spain. If you find one that can point to those 3 easy ones correctly, then ask them to point out Sweden and Finland.

But Brits don't get off scot-free, either. I was amazed to hear recently that British schools have been actively discouraging students from taking advanced maths and sciences in high school because they wanted to improve the school averages. Disgusting.

.

burnsinternet · #14 10-25-2007, 07:45 AM

Want some apples or oranges, genius? All this food talk is making me hungry.

Must be hungry... So grumpy....

I cannot believe I came back to this forum after the summer off and thought I could make a difference. I get nasty PMs because I evangelize to the unsaved ascii heathens and try to open the markets. Few people here really want to make a difference or become ambassadors for IDNs.

The time has passed for throwing bombs. We are getting press now. We are getting browser support now. IDNs are selling on mainstream sites like Sedo and Snap. If these are the times we wanted, looked forward to, then I can't imagine what we were thinking. No world peace here.

Whiskey Tango Foxtrot. What a Charlie Foxtrot.

I thought we were all just Brothers and Sisters with different WHOIS. We are a reflection of something else, I guess. No wonder IDNs face so many hurdles. Even this small group with a single purpose cannot agree and cannot get along.

What was I thinking?

touchring · #15 10-25-2007, 07:50 AM

Have you washed them? I heard water is a problem in Atlanta.

burnsinternet · #16 10-25-2007, 07:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jacksonm

Jerry, I think that we Americans all know just how bad the average American's understanding of the world outside of the USA borders really is, excluding of course that small percentage of us who travel or study extensively. The prevailing attitude has been and will be that if it doesn't happen to Americans inside of America, then it pretty much doesn't need to concern us and big media doesn't report it within US borders.

Take an unlabeled map of Europe and ask 10 random American people on the street to show you Germany, France, and Spain. If you find one that can point to those 3 easy ones correctly, then ask them to point out Sweden and Finland.

But Brits don't get off scot-free, either. I was amazed to hear recently that British schools have been actively discouraging students from taking advanced maths and sciences in high school because they wanted to improve the school averages. Disgusting.

.

I cannot imagine that the American and British are less educated about geography than most of the rest of the world. Our education systems are not too bad considering the illiteracy rates in many countries.

My point has always been: Why does the US always get bashed here? I do not see much negative press about China & India for supporting certain monk-killing governments. Nor do I see constant, unsolicited postings about the human rights policies of certain countries (except, of course, the US). Completely unfair, unbalanced, unwarranted, and rude.

Does ANYONE out there wonder why US domainers might come here and feel, ummm...., unwelcome? Many of us know that many of them are curious about IDNs. Of course, then we point those curious newbies to IDNF and they get to read all this wonderful America-bashing stuff. Thread after thread.

What was I thinking?

Quote:

Originally Posted by touchring

Have you washed them? I heard water is a problem in Atlanta.

Yes. Have a good one, Touch. See ya around.

Rubber Duck · #17 10-25-2007, 08:22 AM

Well it is largely all historical, because both eras are well and truly over. It just we have had longer and have made the adjustment.

If you seriously believe that period of American domination actually resulted in less misery then you are mistaken, it was just inflicted in a less hands on manner.

The strength of dollar and its status of World Reserve Currency is the last bastion of your influence. This is about to crumble in to a heap. Then like us you will spend decades trying to reconstruct something from the rubble.

touchring · #18 10-25-2007, 08:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by burnsinternet

Completely unfair, unbalanced, unwarranted, and rude.

You know the reason - posting such material will only get this website banned in China.

There's a funny "Ori-gin of B-eiji-ng Oly-mpics Log-o" cartoon pic i want to post here, but i would rather not. I wouldn't want to get Olney's forum into trouble.