Re: [idn] An experiment with UTF-8 domain names

[D. J. Bernstein c/o James Seng]

UNIX is switching to UTF-8. I said a bit about the cost of this
conversion. I commented that ACE IDNs wouldn't reduce this cost.

``You haven't said anything to support this argument,'' Keith wrote.

Do you believe that standardizing ACE IDNs will stop UNIX from switching
to UTF-8, Keith? Will it also return us to the age of 16-bit processors,
and give us tidy houses with porches and yards and white picket fences?

Or do you believe that standardizing ACE will somehow reduce the cost of
the switch? If so, how? Exactly what cost will we avoid? Do you believe
that we won't have to install X Unicode fonts, for example, because ACE
IDNs will shield us from the plague of un-American characters?

Keith Moore writes:
> (and your trial produced a failure, you just refuse to recognize it)

Keith, when you refer to a successful experiment as a ``failure'' merely
because it used protocol extensions that haven't been approved by the
IESG, could you please surround your comments by <religious-fanaticism>
and </religious-fanaticism>? Thanks.

> "costs and benefits" are highly subjective

Tell that to the users who have suffered needlessly because of your
previous protocol design screwups, Keith.

---Dan