Internationalised Domain Names (IDN) in .nz
November 19th, 2007 by Matthew Ross
We have contributed to a submission from the State Services Commission to the New Zealand Domain Name Commission, developing discussion points regarding the implementation of IDNs into the .nz domain name space - which would enable the registration of domain names using the five additional characters of the Māori alphabet, the macronised vowels ā, ē, ī, ō, and ū.
InternetNZ has established a working group to consider the implementation of IDNs into the .nz domain name space. This would enable the registration of domain names using the additional five characters of the Māori alphabet, the macronised vowels ā, ē, ī, ō, and ū, which are currently not allowed in .nz domain names
We consider that IDNs would introduce significant vulnerabilities to squatting and phishing attacks that need to be protected against.
Without moderation a registrant could register an IDN version of an existing name, e.g. kiwibānk.co.nz, for the purpose of squatting or phishing. For example, to maliciously create a site to mimic kiwibank.co.nz to attempt to harvest passwords.
A more sophisticated variation scenarios are also possible. For example kōreromāori.co.nz with its 6 vowels has 26 = 32 variants possible by mixing macronised and non-macronised vowels. kōrerōmāori.co.nz and kōreromaori.co.nz are variants that most Internet users would not recognise as being incorrect.
To minimise squatting and phishing risks, the following three issues should be considered:
1. Should there be rules governing priority right (or full rights) for existing domain name holders to new IDNs?
For example, should the owner of maori.org.nz have a priority right (or full rights) to māori.org.nz? In other words, in the New Zealand domain context should an IDN be considered a synonym for a non-IDN domain (and vice versa)?
However, for some words the macronised and un-macronised versions are two distinct words with different meanings: “… anā means ‘here is’ or ‘behold’: Anā te tangata! (Here is the man!) But ana, with no macron, means a cave.1
2. Should mixes of linguistically incorrect characters be permitted?
(e.g. kiwibānk.co.nz and kōreromaori.co.nz)
If macrons are to be used should they only be permitted in a context of ‘correct’ usage of te reo Maori? That is, IDNs such as kōreromaori.co.nz which would be a partially macronised implementation would not be permitted. The only valid options would be kōreromāori.co.nz and koreromaori.co.nz.
3. Should double-vowels also be subject to policy & moderation?
(e.g. koreromaaori.co.nz, kooreromaaori.co.nz, kiwibaank.co.nz)
Some writers of te reo Maori double the vowel instead of using macrons when indicating a long vowel. This issue should be considered in conjunction with the points above.
We encourage you to contribute your comments to this post.
Visit the consultation on Internationalised Domain Names (IDN) in .nz
1 Source: http://www.nzhistory.net.nz/culture/tereo-100words
(38 votes, average: 2.89 out of 5)Tags: IDN, macrons, Māori, New Zealand
