CIRA, the .ca domain registrar, is proposing to allow a restricted subset of IDNs (Internationalized Domain Names) in order to support accented French characters in domain names.

If you speak or write in French, this will likely affect you at some point.  If you use any .ca domain names, this may still affect you, although probably in less direct ways.

Speaking only on my own behalf (specifically: MUUG does not currently have an official position on the matter), I encourage anyone who cares about our national ccTLD to review the information CIRA has made available, form an opinion, and voice your opinion promptly.

IMHO, this is even more important than voting – if we choose poorly in an election, we have the opportunity to collectively change our minds in five years or less (usually four), whereas the CIRA IDN policy is likely to affect Canadians and Canada itself for decades to come.  There’s no automatic reconsultation in four years, and there’s no built-in review process for decisions taken by NGOs like CIRA.  In fact, once a decision like this is made, there may be no recourse at all if we collectively decide we don’t like the result.

It’s obvious to me that CIRA is expecting to make a tidy sum of money by doing this (otherwise I believe they would be taking a different direction altogether), which I believe is OK as long as the internet-using-public’s interests are still served.  I already have an opinion on the matter, and I’ll be making a submission.

CIRA is effectively an NGO [I can’t tell what their legal status is right now], and they’re voluntarily doing the right thing by consulting the public – they’re not obligated to do so – but that consultation process is only effective if CIRA members express their opinions.

Please express your opinion.

-Adam Thompson

athompso@athompso.net

From: CIRA / ACEI [mailto:communications.ca@cira.ca]
Sent: Thursday, September 22, 2011 10:29
To: athompso@athompso.net
Subject: CIRA consultation on accented domain names

Have your say: Join CIRA’s consultation
on accented domain names

Dear Adam Thompson,

As part of our effort to continually enhance the .CA domain, the Canadian Internet Registration Authority (CIRA) is considering the implementation of French character Internationalized Domain Names (IDNs) at the second level (to the left of the dot).

An Internationalized Domain Name is simply a domain name that contains characters other than a-z, 0-9 or hyphens.

CIRA is planning the addition of the following accented characters to .CA domain names:

• é, ë, ê, è
• à, â
• ô
• ù, û, ü
• ç
• î, ï

This means you could soon see domain names like préside.ca, grâce.ca, etc. Before we can implement IDNs, CIRA is preparing a framework that will help us create a policy for launching accented domain names. As a Registrant, we are seeking your input on our proposed framework.

On September 20, 2011, CIRA opened a public consultation concerning our planned launch of IDNs. The feedback received from .CA holders like you, as well as our Members, Registrars and other stakeholders, will help us shape the final IDN launch policy. Learn more about the proposed policy and share your views at www.idnconsultation.ca.

About CIRA
The Canadian Internet Registration Authority is the Member-driven organization that manages Canada’s .CA domain name registry, develops and implements policies that support Canada’s Internet community, and represents the .CA registry internationally.

LEARN MORE ABOUT IDNs
CIRA has developed a great interactive tool to map out all the basics about IDNs.
View our great new IDN road map.

HAVE YOUR SAY!
Tell us what you think about our proposed IDN launch process. You can make a submission or join the discussion.

	Connect with CIRA

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