[UA-discuss] Universal Acceptance now on Wikipedia...https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universal_Acceptance

[Edmon]

Perhaps we can say that before linkification automagically happens, a DNS
lookup should be done to confirm that the domain exists? Or would that
unnecessarily burden the DNS? Modern instant messengers do try to grab the
web information too in fact when something gets linkified.

Edmon


> -----Original Message-----
> From: UA-discuss <ua-discuss-bounces at icann.org> On Behalf Of Andrew
> Sullivan
> Sent: Monday, January 1, 2018 2:12 AM
> To: ua-discuss at icann.org
> Subject: Re: [UA-discuss] Universal Acceptance now on
> Wikipedia...https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universal_Acceptance
> 
> On Sat, Dec 30, 2017 at 04:35:39PM +0000, Andre Schappo wrote:
> > I have just worked how to properly present IDNs in Apple Mail. By
> > properly present I mean without any ASCII, so no https:// or www
> >
> 
> I already made a remark about this, but maybe I haven't stated it in a way
that is
> easily understood.
> 
> The current complaint -- the thing the USAG is attempting to fix -- is
that there
> are these old conventions on the Internet that got turned into "rules"
that
> programs enforce.  The consequence of this is, of course, that innovation
can't
> happen because the programs are automatically doing "the right thing" that
turn
> out to be wrong.
> They're validating domain names using the LDH rule.  Or they're using some
> static list of TLDs that do not reflect the correct current contents of
the root zone.
> Or they're mistrusting IDNs that they don't understand.  Or whatever.
> 
> When linkification assumes that every string of the form
> substring1.substring2.substring3 (and so on) is actually the host-part of
a URI
> properly written as https://substring1.substring2.substring3/, then it
creates
> _the very same_ kind of problem we are trying to combat.  That is, the
program
> is doing some automatic validation or modification of text in such a way
that
> perfectly legitimate uses are broken.  Not everything that is an apparent
> hostname actually _is_ a hostname, and not every actual hostname is the
host-
> part of an http(s) URI/URL.  For instance, I often find myself including
host
> names for ssh access to people, and when that gets linkified as http(s) it
actually
> gets in the way of using the infomation conveniently.
> 
> Presumably there will be future DNS uses that are also not https, since
there are
> present ones.
> 
> I think it is bad to recommend linkification at all for things that do not
have a
> scheme associated (i.e. that are not presented as URIs), and I think the
USAG
> should make clear ways in which such a practice is harmful.
> 
> Best regards,
> 
> A
> 
> --
> Andrew Sullivan
> ajs at anvilwalrusden.com