Re: URL disambiguation

Why are we saying that it shouldn't be done in other modes? If (for some
strange reason) somesite.com doesn't work, and the browser tries
www.somesite.com, I would view that as being helpful. Given that it's
something that many people rely on, I'd be surprised if you got any traction
for taking it out.

Obviously I think the browser should first try somesite.com, and if that
returns a result (either an A record or a CNAME) that should be honored, but
if not, it seems like it's in the interest of the user for the browser to
try www.

-Ian

On Tue, Mar 4, 2008 at 12:33 PM, <michael.mccormick@wellsfargo.com> wrote:

>
> I agree with you Stephen.
>
> Specifically I would say: "The user agent MUST NOT disambiguate the URL
> host name when in Safe Browsing Mode, and SHOULD NOT do so in other
> modes of operation" where host disambiguation is specifically defined to
> mean "Try alternate host names such as 'www' when the input host name is
> irresolvable via standard domain name services".
>
> Thanks, Mike
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Stephen Farrell [mailto:stephen.farrell@cs.tcd.ie]
> Sent: Tuesday, March 04, 2008 2:25 PM
> To: McCormick, Mike
> Cc: public-wsc-wg@w3.org
> Subject: Re: URL disambiguation
>
>
>
> michael.mccormick@wellsfargo.com wrote:
> > There are several possible scenarios, including:
> >
> > 1. tcd.ie and www.tcd.ie both have A records 2. www.tcd.ie has an A
> > record and tcd.ie has a CNAME record aliased to it 3. only www.tcd.ie
> > has a DNS record
> >
> > I was focused on scenario 3.  I don't see scenarios 1 or 2 as
> > requiring any URL disambiguation in the browser.
> >
> > In scenario 3 I believe there are some browsers that will send a user
> > who enters "tcd.ie" to www.tcd.ie instead of returning a Domain Does
> > Not Exist error.  This is the behavior that I feel W3C should restrict
>
> > or at least standardize.
>
> Fair 'nuff. My take would be to tell the browsers not to mess about it
> in that case, unless the user is in some kind of auto-complete mode that
> they've agreed to, or can turn off.
>
> S.
>
> >
> > I hope this clarifies my intent.
> >
> > Cheers, Mike
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: Stephen Farrell [mailto:stephen.farrell@cs.tcd.ie]
> > Sent: Tuesday, March 04, 2008 1:45 PM
> > To: McCormick, Mike
> > Cc: public-wsc-wg@w3.org
> > Subject: Re: URL disambiguation
> >
> >
> >
> > michael.mccormick@wellsfargo.com wrote:
> >> _http://no-www.org/_
> >> _http://yes-www.org/_
> >>
> >> No doubt most of you are familiar with these web sites, and with the
> >> arguments for and against requiring host names in URLs.
> >>
> >> Most browsers seem to make it a moot point by accepting both forms of
>
> >> URL.
> >
> > Does the browser? Isn't that usually done via a CNAME in DNS or else
> > by having two A records for the server? It'd be wrong for a browser to
>
> > assume that the A record for tcd.ie and www.tcd.ie need to be the
> same.
> >
> > S.
> >
> >  > If I type "example.com" into my browser it takes me to
> >> _http://www.example.com_.  The agent is letting me be lazy and skip
> >> typing the protocol (_http://_) or hostname (_www._ <file://www.>)
> >> portions of my destination address.
> >>
> >> The process of URL disambiguation, whereby the UA attempts to guess
> >> parts of the address the user has omitted, should be standardized for
>
> >> both security & experience reasons:
> >>
> >> [protocol://][host.][domain][.TLD][:port][/[path]][?query]
> >>
> >>  - If protocol omitted, UA must try https before http.  (Always
> >> prefer
> >
> >> a TLS protected destination.)
> >>
> >>  - If host omitted, and protocol is http(s), UA may try the host name
>
> >> "www" in the target domain if it has a DNS record, unless the agent
> >> is
> >
> >> in SBM mode.
> >>
> >>  - etc.
> >>
> >>
> >> *Michael McCormick, CISSP*
> >> Lead Security Architect, Information Security Technologies Wells
> >> Fargo
> >
> >> Bank "THESE OPINIONS ARE STRICTLY MY OWN AND NOT NECESSARILY THOSE OF
>
> >> WELLS FARGO"
> >> /This message may contain confidential and/or privileged information.
> >
> >> If you are not the addressee or authorized to receive this for the
> >> addressee, you must not use, copy, disclose, or take any action based
>
> >> on this message or any information herein.  If you have received this
>
> >> message in error, please advise the sender immediately by reply
> >> e-mail
> >
> >> and delete this message.  Thank you for your cooperation./
> >>
> >
> >
> >
>
>
>