Re: [idn] An open letter to the IDN WG (long)

[Dave Crocker <dhc@dcrocker.net>]

At 02:17 PM 3/19/2001, Bill Manning wrote:
>         IPv6:   3ffe:0805:0021:dd87:0224:8bba:feeb:daed
>         This is harder to remember.
>...
>         UTF8 label:     06.60.35.55.fe.ff.a6.cc.24.24.91.33
>         This is harder to remember.

you are more generous than I.  for the general population, they are 
impossible to remember.

however the goal for the ugly, ascii-encoded non-ascii strings is not for 
people to use them directly.  it is for an ascii-based dns server to hold 
them.  the fact that an ascii USER can obtain and look at this ugly string 
does not mean that that user is the target.

The target is the user that is using the source character set.  for THEM, 
the domain string will just as spiffy as we ascii-lovers currently enjoy.


>         To be clear, I think we need a directory service and we've needed
>         it for some time.

about 25 years.  but it has nothing to do with the current requirement, 
unless one distorts the requirement.


>We've already added lots of stuff that is forcing
>         the DNS into the relem of "no human serviceable parts inside"

huh?


>         (try to hand-configure SIG/KEY/NXT records for even a small zone).
>         At that point we might as well have a directory service as our
>         "window" to the DNS internals.

A directory service is a wonderful idea.  Has been for 25 years.  It will 
be great when someone defines and deploys it and people start using it.

Putting it in critical path is a mistake, given that we've been waiting 25 
years.

d/

----------
Dave Crocker   <mailto:dcrocker@brandenburg.com>
Brandenburg InternetWorking   <http://www.brandenburg.com>
tel: +1.408.246.8253;   fax: +1.408.273.6464