I have mixed feelings over the recent announcement from the Paris meeting of ICANN, that domain names are to be opened up. I applaud the move away from a purely latin character (read ASCII code) naming system to one that supports others, such as Cyrillic, Arabic, Chinese and so on. However, the move to permit many more top level domains I fear will lead to intense arguments and possibly an erosion of confidence in the internet as a whole. Who will rule on the legitimacy of control of, for example, ".smith" or ".computer"? Will a domain of ".catholic" be truly representing the Catholic Church any more than ".britain" be representing the British government? It will make it harder for users to sort out the ownership of the site they are visiting, and sadly I think give much more to those who seek to perpetrate scams and other fraud.
I would like to see clear rules and an international body (such as an agency of the UN) be responsible for controlling this. As it is, I think it is little more than a money making ploy on the part of the current controllers.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
12 comments:
Godfrey, you're missing the bigger picture here.
I think it's a great idea to make URLs more specific. It could help track unsavoury characters and assist the authorities to keep an eye on them.
Imagine the benefits of having addresses such as .terrorism or .kiddyfiddler !
I had a dog called Godfrey once. He was supposed to be a top class hunting dog but looked more like one of those down in the face types with the bloodshot eyes, saggy jowls and coarse wiry hair.
His demeanour wasn't exactly that of a top hunter either.
Rather than do what he was supposed to do, he spent all his time wandering around aimlessly and humping guests legs.
In the end we had to send him to pastures new where his new owners weren't at all demanding and were quite happy to let him sit in the corner of the room drooling over his own feet !
You can bet the Russians will have .commie !
I have a problem with computers Godfrey. Why is it that every time I want to do something it asks me if I’m sure ?
I tried do delete some unwanted documents that I no longer needed and it asked me “Are you sure you want to delete ‘MMcCann08/09Englishsyllabus.doc’ ?”, I decided that I needed to upgrade my printer drivers and it asked me “Are you sure that you want to install ‘HP101.exe’ ?”. It even asks me if I’m sure I want to turn the damn thing off.
Why is everything to do with a computer such a pain ?
I’ll be glad when we have intuitive computers that can think for themselves rather than ask you questions every 2 minutes about routine tasks.
Then again, that might be a bad idea. Imagine the headaches it could cause if computers governing the use of thermonuclear warheads decided to think for themselves and started World War 3 or if circuitry controlling the A30 Airbus decided it was having a bad day and crashed the plane into a large structure, it could be 9/11 all over again.
Forget I mentioned it.
Cheerio.
Godfrey
Do you find that people use the internet to post any old twaddle? I wonder what you thought on this?
Thanks
Re posting on 21 Aug
We also had a cat called Jaffrey. We named her after the top Indian chef Madhur Jaffrey. However, the one time we fed her curry she puked over the carpet. Its a funny old world isn't it?
What a coincidence. I have a neighbour called Madhur. Strange chap, he's carried about 40 large bags of fertilizer, weedkiller and sugar into his shed this week and his garden is fully concreted.
I don't get it.
He's probably storing it for a friend as I wouldn't have thought he'd have time for gardening, being a busy architect and that. He's got blueprints of famous buildings all over his living room walls.
Godfrey
I feel compelled to say that I for one am glad of the change in legislation.
My family & I now live in the Cook Islands and run a small business. We are trying to grow this business through the internet. However, the somewhat embarrassing
bane of our lives is our website url. Imagine having to tell people that you have a
.cok (read "dot cock") address. Much sniggering ensues and its a struggle to be taken seriously.
We will be changing this at the earliest opportunity.
Incidentally, as a child in England, I had a guinea pig called Paul. He had a furry little quiff
and mullet which made him look a little like the ex-Ipswich Town footballer Paul Mariner, hence the name!
I thought you'd like to know.
Well I'd challenge your assumption that .britain should solely be the province of the UK government. Firstly on the grounds of devolution and secondly on the grounds that there are many organisations that represent the interests of Britain without actually being part of the government. The National Trust for example.
Can I have first dibs on .winderlicka
What about.dashdashdot for the UK Morse Code Society or .cotton for Eastenders fans ?
It all seems very complicated.
I remember the good old days before the interweb became so popular and you actually had to do something physical to get information.
The many phone calls to councils, garages and the yellow pages are something I really miss.
Or the days when you'd walk into town in the driving rain only to find that the store you went to had sold out of Powerflow Lead Free Solder Flux Paste.....ah bliss !
Now it's all far too easy for everyone to log in or whatever it is they do and order all their kit on the line.
It's hardly surprising we're turning into a nation of fatties !
Post a Comment