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From: Dean Snyder (dean.snyder@jhu.edu)
Date: Thu Jul 07 2005 - 07:50:15 CDT

  • Next message: Dean Snyder: "Re: Arabic encoding model (alas, static!)"

    asadek@st-elias.com wrote at 8:30 PM on Wednesday, July 6, 2005:

    >From: "Kenneth Whistler" <kenw@sybase.com>
    >
    >> Asking again isn't going to turn one up.
    >
    >Do you expect me to know there is none before asking and being told so?
    >Thank you for confirming this absence at the UTC and its apparent veto to
    >have this proposal passed to the WG2.
    >
    >> The presentation of a proposal to a standards committee isn't like
    >> an application for a license from a government agency (or something
    >> similar), for which the applicant has some kind of legal entitlement
    >> and rights to appeal and rights to explicit provision of reasons
    >> if the application is turned down.
    >
    >Pity, as this is not a small point but deals with a major point and
    >would avoid repetitive discussions like this one.
    >
    >>
    >> Your task, instead, would be to create a consensus within the
    >> character encoding community (and the implementing information
    >> technology companies) that the existing Arabic encoding is so
    >> flawed that it requires introduction and implementation of
    >> a competing, distinct textual representation in Unicode.
    >> That, sir, is a *very* high mountain to climb, at this point.
    >
    >Especially, if I will have not even right to know why it would not be
    >accepted!
    >
    >I was just asking questions and hoped to see written rationales (as these
    >would be more complete and self-contained that the general overview you
    >quickly mentioned above).
    >
    >I can't say the tone is very inviting.

    Ashraf, I completely agree with and support your sentiments expressed
    here. You have rather quickly discovered the elitist, exclusionary, and
    at times, downright nasty mentality of many in the Unicode/ISO 10646
    community. Part of it stems from hubris, part from fatigue, and part
    from the simple fact that this has become such a close knit, almost
    incestuous community. There is a real need for substantial amounts of
    new blood in this group; unfortunately I don't see that happening
    anytime soon. It could, however, change rather quickly if several
    international stake-holders simply paid for full membership in the
    Unicode Consortium and also became involved in the ISO 10646 efforts
    through their national standards bodies. Basically this would take
    money, expertise, and time. Given those ingredients, however, you could
    effect real change.

    Respectfully,

    Dean A. Snyder

    Assistant Research Scholar
    Manager, Digital Hammurabi Project
    Computer Science Department
    Whiting School of Engineering
    218C New Engineering Building
    3400 North Charles Street
    Johns Hopkins University
    Baltimore, Maryland, USA 21218

    office: 410 516-6850
    cell: 717 817-4897
    www.jhu.edu/digitalhammurabi/
    http://users.adelphia.net/~deansnyder/



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