<html><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; "><div style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; "><div><div> Gervase Markham <<a href="mailto:gerv@mozilla.org">gerv@mozilla.org> wrote</a>:</div><br><blockquote type="cite"><div>since they <br>started using the DNS and the Internet, which could have been up to <br>around 25 years ago.</div></blockquote><div><br></div><div>After thinking, are you sure, dear Gervase, that such an argument (25 years of use) is an effective one to demonstrate that a choice is the right one?</div><div>It could be 25 years of wrong use by users who have not any other choice...</div><div>In French, we say: "fait accompli". I'm sure you understand it.</div><div>And in Latin: "Errare humanum, perseverare diabolicum."</div><div><br></div><blockquote type="cite">Your fundamental misunderstanding is to not realise that DNS names are <br>aides memoire, not words in a particular language, no matter how much <br>they may resemble the latter.</blockquote><br></div><div>The double nature of DNS is indeed a great source of issues.</div><div>IMHO, actually, domain names are *labels* (in French "étiquettes").</div><div>And as digital labels, they are both: computing signs and linguistic signs.</div><div><br></div><div>For the major part of users, reading a domain name when surfing deals mostly with language rules.</div><div><br></div><div>As that double nature system is an original one, I believe the designers of the system are probably free to take in account more or less rules of each kind.</div><div>If IETF wished to better take in account the linguistic aspects of domains names it could be possible, don't you think?</div><div>But perhaps the price could be more complicate computing rules?</div><div><br></div><div>I wonder if this list is the best place for such a debate. Is there a better one?</div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div>Best regards,</div><div><br></div><div>@+, Dominique Lacroix</div><div><br></div></div></body></html>