Re: [idn] Moving forward

[Paul Hoffman / IMC <phoffman@imc.org>]

At 7:17 PM +0000 5/28/01, D. J. Bernstein wrote:
>I'd like to see a poll on the question of whether UTF-8 will be the
>long-term IDN solution. I suspect we have consensus that it will be. The
>only person arguing for ACE-forever is Keith ``Q-P forever'' Moore.

Keith is not the only person arguing for it, and he is not the only 
person supporting it. Many people would rather be poked in the eye 
with a sharp stick than to try to argue with you. As has been seen 
over the years, many people also would rather be silent than agree 
with you because you often turn and attack your supporters.

Thus, the small number of people on the list who are willing to take 
either position doesn't mean that a small number of people have an 
opinion.

The best way to resolve this is for someone who supports the "first 
ACE then UTF-8" position to write an Internet Draft. That person 
needs to be someone who is willing to later edit the draft to include 
other people's opinions, and to revise it in a timely manner when 
people comment on it. The draft needs to cover how the new protocols, 
and the change between them, affects applications, protocols, and 
users. Until there is a draft that gives the arguments in detail, 
there is no reasonable way to compare it to IDNA.

And, yes, Patrik and I need to add more about all of this in the IDNA 
draft. Look for something this week.

--Paul Hoffman, Director
--Internet Mail Consortium