Deprecating grandfathered tags (was: Re: Add Likely Subtags first step)

[Doug Ewell]

John Cowan wrote:

>> •    adding variant 'idefault' with prefix "en" and deprecating
>> "i-default". This subtag value is better than 'default' (which I
>> originally would have preferred) as the latter would have been
>> misleading.
>
> I am unalterably opposed to this.  RFC 5255 (IMAP extensions) uses
> i-default, and isn't going to change, and probably no one else does.
> Adding en-idefault is useless.

But harmless. There is probably not a single application, present or 
future, that would ever use the new, "preferred" regular tag; they would 
all stick with "i-default". BCP 47 assures that they may do so; SHOULD 
NOT is not MUST NOT.

>> •    deprecating "cel-gaulish" and adding a "see ..." Comments field
>> with subtags alphabetized.
>
> As noted, I'd prefer to omit the tags unless we can get authoritative
> information on which they should be.

I'm OK with that. Comments can be added or removed at any time.

> Though when zh-min was assigned, the split of Min Chinese into four
> or five varieties was not yet contemplated.  Min is essentially a
> subfamily of Sinitic that split off from the rest of Sinitic before
> the Middle Chinese period.  "Ill-conceived" is rather harsh.

I stand corrected.

--
Doug Ewell | Thornton, CO, USA | http://ewellic.org ­