Punycode & IMA/EAI

Shawn Steele Shawn.Steele at microsoft.com
Wed May 21 03:33:33 CEST 2008


That's what I'm saying, they'll choose the 1st of your options :)  I think the 2nd is a limited case, and probably only chosen because a lack of reasonable alternatives.

- Shawn

-----Original Message-----
From: John C Klensin [mailto:klensin at jck.com]
Sent: Tuesday, May 20, 2008 6:30 PM
To: Shawn Steele; idna-update at alvestrand.no
Subject: RE: Punycode & IMA/EAI

b

--On Tuesday, 20 May, 2008 10:33 -0700 Shawn Steele
<Shawn.Steele at microsoft.com> wrote:

>> Hard to predict.  If I have an IDN mail domain that contains
>> characters for which I don't have an IME (or don't know how to
>> use it), and happen to have the A-label(s) handy, I might
>> prefer to use them.
>
> "Having the A-label(s) handy" is asking a lot :)  IMHO I think
> most normal users wouldn't happen to have it handy.  I think
> that most people that need ASCII support will ask for an ASCII
> alias of some form (both for the local and domain part), which
> is much more useful than an punycode label.

Shawn, if I'm doing business internationally and my addresses
are in a script that that my business partners might consider
obscure, I am almost certain to either

        * make sure I have alternative addresses (both email and
        relevant URLs) in ASCII characters    or

        * make sure I show A-labels

on business cards, letterhead, etc.   The latter constitutes
"handy" in my vocabulary.    If someone asked my advice, I would
probably recommend the first.   But it is very clear from many
conversations that some people will pick the second.

> The end users of these protocols aren't technical geeks,
> they're sales guys and teachers and kids and parents.

If they are "sales guys and teachers and kids and parents" whose
relationships and correspondents include people who don't
natively use the same script, they will have the problem
described above and will have to solve it somehow.

    john



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