| Comment Close Date | Statement Name | Status | Assignee(s) | Call for Comments Open | Call for Comments Close | Vote Open | Vote Close | Date of Submission | Staff Contact and Email | Statement Number |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16.03.2015 | IDN TLDs - LGR Procedure Implementation - Maximal Starting Repertoire Version 2 | ADOPTED 9Y, 0N, 1A Reason of abstention | Satish Babu | 03.03.2015 | 10.03.2015 23:59 UTC | 11.03.2015 23:59 UTC | 16.03.2015 20:00 UTC | 16.03.2015 | Sarmad Hussain | AL-ALAC-ST-0315-02-00-EN |
FINAL VERSION TO BE SUBMITTED IF RATIFIED
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FINAL DRAFT VERSION TO BE VOTED UPON BY THE ALAC
ALAC notes the progress made in the LGR Procedure Implementation project through the release of the Maximal Starting Repertoire Version 2 (MSR-2). The release of MSR-2 is an important step towards the creation of LGRs, which will, in turn, provide a consistent and predictable set of permissible code points for IDN TLDs, besides also providing ways to detect variant forms of labels. ALAC commends ICANN and the teams which have worked for this milestone.
MSR-2 adds six scripts (Armenian, Ethiopic, Khmer, Myanmar, Thaana and Tibetan) to the 22 scripts covered earlier in MSR-1, resulting in 33,492 valid Unicode code points (out of the total 97,973) that may be used by the Generation Panels (GPs). ALAC notes that the inclusion of these scripts is expected to benefit several million end-users of the Internet, particularly from Developing Countries.
ALAC also notes that while some of the GPs are seated and active, others have been less active or inactive, reflecting the varying nature of community participation in the program.
Recommendations
- ICANN is in the process of rolling out a major initiative for Universal Acceptance (UAI) that is expected to be operational for the long-term. It is important that the IDN program is harmonized (in terms of parameters such as technology dissemination, capacity building and outreach) with the UAI so that the synergies between the two can be leveraged. In addition to such harmonization, ALAC also recommends that the UAI be utilized to ensure better community participation for the IDN program.
- MSR-2 is based on Unicode 7, but is limited to the Unicode 6.3 subset. Given the fact that Unicode 8.0 is scheduled for release in 2015 (a draft has already been released), there may be questions from the community on the stability of the contents of MSR-2, particularly if the Generation Panels are to immediately commence their work based on MSR-2. ALAC recommends that ICANN clarifies the likely impact, if any, of changes to the underlying Unicode standard on MSR-2.
- Once MSR-2 becomes operational and provides the basis of LGR-1, and once IDNs start getting registered, it would not be possible to change the once-registered names (or add more PVALID code-points to the MSR) without causing serious erosion of trust in the global Internet in general and IDNs in particular. This calls for sufficient interactions with communities to ensure that any contentious issues are addressed.
For instance, 0D4C ൌ MALAYALAM VOWEL SIGN AU is PVALID, but marked as 'Obsolete' in MSR-2, which has been pointed out by some users as not justified, as the sign in question is widely used. Whether this particular case is valid or not, it points to the need for more interactions.
ALAC recommends extensive consultations with end-user and language communities to ensure that they get an opportunity to discuss the MSR-2 recommendations, as these have long-term ramifications. - Noting that end-user communities should be better integrated into the IDN Program, ALAC assures its support to the ICANN IDN team in stimulating participation of end-user communities. In particular, ALAC would welcome joint activities that involves At-Large Structures in the relevant geographies.
FIRST DRAFT SUBMITTED
ALAC notes the progress made in the LGR Procedure Implementation project through the release of the Maximal Starting Repertoire Version 2 (MSR-2). The release of MSR-2 is an important step towards the creation of LGRs, which will, in turn, provide a consistent and predictable set of permissible code points for IDN TLDs, besides also providing ways to detect variant forms of labels. ALAC commends ICANN and the teams which have worked for this milestone.
MSR-2 adds six scripts (Armenian, Ethiopic, Khmer, Myanmar, Thaana and Tibetan) to the 22 scripts covered earlier in MSR-1, resulting in 33,492 valid Unicode code points (out of the total 97,973) that may be used by the Generation Panels (GPs). ALAC notes that the inclusion of these scripts is expected to benefit several million end-users of the Internet, particularly from Developing Countries.
ALAC also notes that while some of the GPs are seated and active, others have been less active or inactive, reflecting the varying nature of community participation in the program.
Recommendations
- ICANN is in the process of rolling out a major initiative for Universal Acceptance (UAI) that is expected to be operational for the long-term. It is important that the IDN program is harmonized (in terms of parameters such as technology dissemination, capacity building and outreach) with the UAI so that the synergies between the two can be leveraged. In addition to such harmonization, ALAC also recommends that the UAI be utilized to ensure better community participation for the IDN program.
- MSR-2 is based on Unicode 7, but is limited to the Unicode 6.3 subset. Given the fact that Unicode 8.0 is scheduled for release in 2015 (a draft has already been released), there may be questions from the community on the stability of the contents of MSR-2, particularly if the Generation Panels are to immediately commence their work based on MSR-2. ALAC recommends that ICANN clarifies the likely impact, if any, of changes to the underlying Unicode standard on MSR-2.
- Once MSR-2 becomes operational and provides the basis of LGR-1, and once IDNs start getting registered, it would not be possible to change the once-registered names (or add more PVALID code-points to the MSR) without causing serious erosion of trust in the global Internet in general and IDNs in particular. This calls for sufficient interactions with communities to ensure that any contentious issues are addressed.
For instance, 0D4C ൌ MALAYALAM VOWEL SIGN AU is PVALID, but marked as 'Obsolete' in MSR-2, which has been pointed out by some users as not justified, as the sign in question is widely used. Whether this particular case is valid or not, it points to the need for more interactions.
ALAC recommends extensive consultations with end-user and language communities to ensure that they get an opportunity to discuss the MSR-2 recommendations, as these have long-term ramifications. - Noting that end-user communities should be better integrated into the IDN Program, ALAC assures its support to the ICANN IDN team in stimulating participation of end-user communities. In particular, ALAC would welcome joint activities that involves At-Large Structures in the relevant geographies.
