[idn] iDNS re-chartering proposal, take 2

[Dave Crocker <dcrocker@brandenburg.com>]

Folks,

Perhaps the most important goals in re-chartering this effort are to:

         1.  Narrow the scope of work

         2.  Specify deliverables very precisely

         3.  Specify dates for deliverable that are very near-term.

This should make it easier to distinguish what is in-scope and what is not, 
as well as help the group focus on tasks that must be done soon.

Note the reference to near-term.  This eliminates discussion about work to 
be done in the future.  The issue is not that the work is not important, 
but that discussion about future work  gets in the way of discussion about 
current work, for producing something useful NOW.  When the working group 
has satisfied near-term requirements, it will be free to consider 
re-chartering for longer-term goals.

With these factors in mind, I offer some modifications to the proposed new 
charter.  The modifications are intended to:

1.  Make the opening paragraph comprehensive, so that it is useful by 
itself.  The first paragraph of a working group charter is distributed as 
an "abstract" of the charter.  That means it should summarize the problem, 
summarize the nature of the work to be done, summarize the technical 
approach, and possibly summarize the resulting benefit from the work.

2.  Focus on the production of a single technical specification to be 
offered as a standard.  Hence the working group is no longer exploring, 
researching or otherwise having broad discussions.

3.  Ensure the quickest possible milestones for delivering a specification 
that is immediately useful and will produce DNS changes that also are 
immediately useful.  This will reflect the past two years of discussion.

4.  Modify terminology a little bit, to reflect our better understanding of 
the task that is to be done.  This should help people avoid discussing 
issues that are not really helpful to the working group task.  It also 
should help people understand that we are specifying character codes, 
rather than anything as broad and amorphous as "access".


So, here is the proposed, modified re-chartering text:


Domain Names are Internet identifiers. They are used both for machine and 
human processing, so the form of a Domain Name must be convenient for both 
processing venues.  The current set of valid Domain Name characters is 
limited to common Internet ASCII, which is inadequate for the broad range 
of Internet human users.  This working group will produce a standards-track 
specification for extending the range of characters that can be used in 
Domain Names, by humans.  The enhancement will be designed to minimize 
changes to existing Domain Name software and operations.  In particular, 
changes to the DNS infrastructure of storage and exchange mechanisms will 
be avoided.

The technical approach for the current specification effort shall be to 
permit use of international character sets, as recommended by the IAB, and 
then encode the characters, to permit their transmission and storage within 
existing DNS mechanisms.  Hence this enhancement to the DNS involves only 
end-user software.  In particular software that needs to be changed is 
restricted to:  Human DNS input and output modules.  No other modules will 
need to be changed.

Language information is not encoded in these identifiers.  That is, "names" 
from different languages are defined in a single namespace.

The group will not address the question of what, if any, body should 
administer or control usage of names that use this functionality.

The group will identify consequences to the current deployed DNS 
infrastructure, the protocols and the applications as well as transition 
scenarios, where applicable.

The working group will actively ensure communication with interested groups 
who are studying the same, or related, topics.


Working Group action items are:

1. An Informational RFC documenting considerations for supporting 
International character sets in domain names. The document will discuss 
factors used to develop solutions to this problem, taking localized (e.g. 
writing order) and related operational issues into consideration.

    [[[  Question:  Why must we discuss writing order at all?  /Dave   ]]]

2. A standards track specification for internationalized domain name 
strings, to be used by humans, including specifying any transition issues.


The Action Item(s) for the Working Group are:

1.  An Informational RFC specifying the requirements for providing 
International character sets in domain names. The document should provide 
guidance for developing solutions to this problem, taking localized (e.g. 
writing order) and related operational issues into consideration.

2.  A standard track specification on permitting international characters 
in domain names, including specifying any transition issues.

3.  A standard track specification on an ASCII Compatible Encoding (ACE), 
to be used in the standard track specification on permitting international 
characters in domain names.

4.  A standard track specification on normalization of domain name 
identifiers for the purpose of string comparisons. This document may 
includes case folding, map outs, and prohibited characters.


Goal & Milestone:

Nov 2001        Draft of architecture relating input methods, namepreps
                 and zonefiles
Nov 2001        Draft of ACE specification
Nov 2001        Draft of DNS identifier normalization specification
Nov 2001        Draft of DNS character set enhancement specification
Jan 2002        Architecture draft submitted for informational publication
Jan 2002        ACE specification submitted for standardization
Jan 2002        DNS identifier normalization specification submitted
                 for standardization
Jan 2002        DNS Character set enhancement specification submitted
                 for standardization



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