RE: Thoughts on top-level domains, esp. .mobi

While agreeing in whole to the position that it is 
actively harmful to divide web addressing into 
device-centric domains, the comment

.."it is unwise, as an architectural principle, to put semantics into names"

is a little over the top if considered outside the 
context of web naming which it is assumed, subsumes 
any namespace used on the web (the tree model).   In contrast to 
trademarks as brands, service or test marks are created 
precisely to assign semantics to a name typically 
through the pairing of the mark with conformance 
tests that prove that the test article is a 
conformant instance.  In such an application of 
a name, a tight coupling of semantics and a name 
is the precise intent.  Were service marks a tree system, 
one would encounter the problems you note.

Good article.

len


From: Tim Berners-Lee [mailto:timbl@w3.org]

In writing up some problems as I see them with the proposed .mobi top 
level domain, I found i had half the document full of general reasons 
why new domains are a bad idea, which would apply to many if not all of 
the new proposals, and the other half specific problems with .mobi.

The writeup is at http://www.w3.org/DesignIssues/TLD

Comments welcome -- I intend to send it to the formal comment list next 
week.
This is a personal view only.  It is not a W3c view.  I would recommend 
that others also send their feelings to the official list.


Tim Berners-Lee


ICANN Public comment form:
	http://www.icann.org/tlds/stld-apps-19mar04/stld-public-comments.htm

RFP:
	http://www.icann.org/tlds/new-stld-rfp/new-stld-rfp-24jun03.htm

General comments:
	stld-rfp-general@icann.org

Received on Wednesday, 5 May 2004 16:49:08 UTC