Re: [idn] phasing out ACE

[Mats Dufberg <dufberg@nic-se.se>]

On Mar 29, 2002, 22:35 (-0000) Adam M. Costello <idn.amc+0@nicemice.net.Rem...:

> On one side are people who think it is both possible and desirable
> to phase out ACE eventually.  On the other side are people who doubt
> whether it is possible or worth the effort to phase out ACE.  I don't
> recall anyone saying that ACE should live forever even if it were easy
> and painless to phase out.

ACE is like quoted-printable in mail messages. It is a solution that will
cause the least problem for time being, but not the solution that anyone
would invent from scratch.


> First, should the IDNA spec state that ACE is transitional, or should
> it state that ACE is the long-term solution, or should it take neither
> position?  By remaining neutral it would not shut the door on either
> possibility, so this ought to be the least objectionable to the most
> people.

To state that the ACE solution is transitional, we have to know how and by
what it should be replace. When (and if) there is a better solution, we
should welcome that to replace ACE.


> Second, should DNS extensions for native support of IDNs be developed
> by the idn working group, or the dnsext working group?  Phasing out
> ACE will require upgrades to every IETF standard that uses domain
> names, and hence will involve many working groups.  DNS is just one
> of many protocols that will need to be upgraded.  So perhaps the idn
> working group should take a coordinating/consulting role, while the new
> standards are actually produced by other working groups.  DNS need not
> be an exception.

Replacing ACE with, say, UTF-8, if possible, is a task for an entire new
working group. The dnsext working group will possibly close when the
DNSsec work is done. As you note, such work will effect several IETF
standards. Every such standard must be updated first to be neutral between
7bit ASCII and unicode encoded in UTF-8 (or some other encoding), before
DNS can be updated.



Mats

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Mats Dufberg <dufberg@nic-se.se>
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