Keywords: A Fresh Approach to A Multilingual Internet

1
Keywords A Fresh Approach to A Multilingual
Internet

• Dr. Yves Arrouye
• Chief Architect, RealNames Corp.
• yves_at_realnames.com

2
A Look at Net Addresses

• DNS is not for everybody
• Mainly a thin layer about IP addresses
• Restricted name syntax
• IDN will only alleviates some problems
• URLs are very unwieldy
• http//www.mitsucars.com/car_home/carindex_check.m
  msa?modelecs01flashyes
• IRLs will keep the URI syntax

3
DNS Role and Use

• DNS names network objects
• A DNS name is an identifier
• These identifiers are not what we think of when
  we say name
• DNS is only a part of the picture
• Documents on the Web also have a path in their
  address
• Email also requires a mailbox name
• DNS is abused
• Using domain names as shortcuts

4
How to Fix It?

• Leave DNS alone
• Works well for what it was designed to do
• Build on top of DNS
• New requirements, new effort
• Correct todays imbalances
• Open the infrastructure
• Resolution and registration

5
Layered View of Naming (John Klensin)

• Above DNS
• A couple new layers
• Sublayer 2 is a replacement for DNS that is
  friendlier to human names
• Sublayer 3 offers directory services
• BOF at 52th IETF

6
Layered View of the RealNames Platform

• Above DNS
• Country-based namespaces

7
Keywords

• A fresh approach
• No standard to conform to, no set limitations to
  obey
• Used Unicode from the start
• User-friendly rules
• Write über or ueber
• Country-based namespaces
• Friendly to local trademarks and usages

8
Sample Keywords

• Libération
• Barnes Noble
• Yahoo!
• Motel ?

• Nicht ist unmöglich
• Vecernji list

Note Due to technical reasons, this printout
does not have sample Keywords in non-Latin
scripts. Please refer to the presentation on the
Symposiums Web site for further examples in
other scripts.
9
The Structure of Keywords

• Multi-faceted objects

• Use of Context
• Implicit context is better
• Only some facets needed for direct navigation
• Multiple applications

10
Keyword Resolution

• How Does It Work?
• The keyword is looked up and we redirect to its
  associated Web URI.

11
Conclusion

• DNS is best left alone
• As a network naming layer
• Even IDN is constrained by DNS
• People need freedom of naming
• Keywords are easy to grasp
• Keywords work across applications
• Keywords work across cultures