At-Large Interim Report Internationalized Registration Data Expert Working Group Workspace

For information about this PC, please click here 

Comment / Reply Periods (*)

Comment Open Date: 

14 April 2014

Comment Close Date: 

5 May 2014 - 23:59 UTC

Reply Open Date: 

6 May 2014

Reply Close Date: 

27 May 2014 - 23:59 UTC

Important Information Links

Public Comment Announcement

To Submit Your Comments (Forum)

View Comments Submitted

Brief Overview

Originating Organization: 

ICANN

Categories/Tags: 

• Domain Name Registration Data
• Internationalized Registration Data
• Whois

Purpose (Brief): 

This Public Forum invites comments on the Interim Report from the Internationalized Registration Data (IRD) Expert Working Group. The Report proposes internationalization requirements for fourteen categories of data elements currently outputted by the various gTLD registration data directory services.

Current Status: 

The IRD Working Group has completed and published its Interim Report. Public comment is specifically sought on the proposed internationalized requirements for various data elements outputted by today's registration data directory service (WHOIS).

Next Steps: 

Following the review of the Community discussion during the ICANN Meeting in Singapore and all public comments and replies received during the comment and reply periods, the IRD Working Group will finalize its recommendations and publish its Final Report.

Staff Contact: 

Steve Sheng

Email Staff Contact

Detailed Information

Section I: Description, Explanation, and Purpose: 

As part of the broader ICANN effort to implement the recommendations from the ICANN Whois Review Team, the Internationalized Registration Data expert working group was formed to recommend the requirements for internationalized registration data (IRD) and produce a data model for the IRD that matches the requirements.

The IRD Working Group has completed its initial deliberation on the data requirements and has produced its Interim Report for public comment.

Section II: Background: 

Much of the currently accessible domain name registration data1 (DNRD) is encoded free form in US-ASCII. This legacy condition is convenient for WHOIS service users who are sufficiently familiar with languages that can be submitted and displayed in US-ASCII to be able to use US-ASCII script to submit DNRD and make and receive WHOIS queries using that script. However, this data is less useful to the WHOIS service users who are only familiar with languages that require character set support other than US-ASCII for correct submission or display.

The WHOIS Review Team, in its final report, highlights the needs to define requirements, data models and evaluate solutions for internationalized registration data (recommendations 12-14). The ICANNBoard adopted an Action Plan in response to the WHOIS Review Team's Final Report that instructs Staff to implement these recommendations.

Subsequently a set of related efforts were formed to implement the WHOIS Review Team recommendations as adopted by the ICANN Board. These are:

1. An expert working group to determine the requirements for internationalized registration data.
2. A commissioned study to evaluate available solutions for internationalized registration data.
3. A Policy Development Process (PDP) to determine whether translation or transliterations of contact information are needed. If so, specify who should bear the burden.

The report published for public comment is an interim report related to the first effort. After careful consideration of the public comments received, the IRD Working Group intends to produce its Final Report by ICANN London Meeting.

---

1 Domain Name Registration Data (DNRD) refers to the information that individuals or organizations ("registrants") submit when they register a domain name. Domain name registrars or registry operators collect these data, and some of the data is made available for public display or for use by applications.

Section III: Document and Resource Links: 

• Interim Report [PDF, 688 KB]

Section IV: Additional Information: 

• Expert Working Group Wiki:https://community.icann.org/display/whoisird/WHOIS+RT+IRD+WG+Home
• WHOIS Review Team Final Report, available at: https://www.icann.org/en/news/public-comment/whois-rt-final-report-11may12-en.htm
• Action Plan to Address WHOIS Policy Review Team Report Recommendations." 2012. Available at: http://www.icann.org/en/groups/board/documents/briefing-materials-1-08nov12-en.pdf [PDF, 266 KB]

---

(*) Comments submitted after the posted Close Date/Time are not guaranteed to be considered in any final summary, analysis, reporting, or decision-making that takes place once this period lapses.

 

FINAL VERSION TO BE SUBMITTED IF RATIFIED

Please click here to download a copy of the pdf below.

---

FINAL DRAFT VERSION TO BE VOTED UPON BY THE ALAC

Acknowledgement Internationalized Registration Data expert working group initial Report

The ALAC welcomes the interim Report, as it proposes internationalisation requirements for fourteen categories of data elements currently outputted by the various gTLD registration data directory services, and was tasked to produce a data model for the IRD that matches the requirements. The ALAC supports the preliminary viewpoints and possible approaches identified in the Report, and believes it is a good initial starting point.

The need for expert policy output impact

The ALAC is gravely concerned that no ICANN policy expert or appointed Advisors are present on either Integration Panel as the eventual output will have policy impact. This is important as this type of policy development is a single shot at implementation, meaning it is very hard to back-track or amend things after mistakes or omissions.

The need for comprehensive attention to detail

The IRD Working Groups assessment on the requirements for internationalised registration data (IRD) and its deliberation on how to produce a data model for the IRD that matches the requirements are welcomed by the ALAC. The ALAC agrees with the Working Groups approach to ensure that all proposed characters (new gTLD tables and current IANA tables) are included. However, the ALAC advises that more attention to detail should be made when it comes to introducing non-ASCII character sets. It is clear from the offset that already certain Hong Kong characters are missing (based on Hong Kong Supplementary Character Set), and more attention to detail should be sought on this matter.

The ALAC believes it is important that the IDN policy evolution should allow more accessibility to those who do not use the ASCII character set, as restrictions across languages would inevitably lead to maladministration. The Working Group is advised that more attention to detail should be sought in introducing new policies that affect different languages when it implements IDN Policy, as failure to do so could harm ICANNs credibility as a global organisation.

Importance of multilingualism

The ALAC acutely reaffirms that IDNs are crucial for enhancing diversity and multilingualism on the Internet, through their importance to the Internet’s continued evolution and use by people from all linguistic backgrounds.

 

---

FIRST DRAFT SUBMITTED

At-Large Advisory Committee Statement on the Interim Report Internationalized Registration Data Expert Working Group

Acknowledgement Internationalized Registration Data expert working group initial Report

The ALAC welcomes the initial Report, as it proposes internationalisation requirements for fourteen categories of data elements currently outputted by the various gTLD registration data directory services, and was tasked to produce a data model for the IRD that matches the requirements. The ALAC supports the preliminary viewpoints and possible approaches identified in the Report, and believes it is a good initial starting point.

The need for expert policy output impact

The ALAC is gravely concerned that no ICANN policy expert on either Integration Panel or appointed Advisors as the eventual output will have policy impact. This is important as….

The need for comprehensive attention to detail

The IRD Working Groups assessment on the requirements for internationalised registration data (IRD) and its deliberation on how to produce a data model for the IRD that matches the requirements are welcomed by The ALAC. The ALAC agrees with the Working Groups approach to ensure that all proposed characters (new gTLD tables and current IANA tables) are included. However, The ALAC advises that more attention to detail should be made when it comes to introducing non-ASCII character set. It is clear from the offset that already certain Hong Kong characters are missing (based on Hong Kong Supplementary Character Set), and more attention to detail should be sought on this matter.

The ALAC believes it is important that the IDN policy evolution should allow more accessibility to those who do not use the ASCII character set, as restrictions across languages would inevitably lead to maladministration. The Working Group is advised that more attention to detail should be sought in introducing new policies that affect different languages when it implements IDN Policy, as failure to do so could harm ICANNs credibility as a global organisation.

Importance of multilingualism

The ALAC acutely reaffirms that IDNs are crucial for enhancing diversity and multilingualism on the Internet, and its importance to the Internet’s continued evolution and use by people from all linguistic backgrounds.