Public Comment is a vital part of our multistakeholder model. It provides a mechanism for stakeholders to have their opinions and recommendations formally and publicly documented. It is an opportunity for the ICANN community to effect change and improve policies and operations.
Ce contenu est uniquement disponible en
Comment on Single-character gTLDs in the Han Script
I believe that applications for single-character gTLDs in the Han script should not be accepted. The reasons are as follows.
I. Perception of the ideographic nature of Chinese characters
Support for single-character gTLDs in the Han script is based on the perception that Chinese characters are ideographs and that every Chinese character has a clear and fixed meaning. In fact, the ideographic nature of Chinese characters, which have undergone more than 3,000 years of development and evolution, is very complex.However, the "clear" meaning referred to here may not necessarily be a single one, but rather several interrelated or even irrelevant meanings. Unless such a character is used in a specific context or in a multi-syllabic word, it is basically impossible to determine which meaning is being used. For the majority of Chinese characters in non-multi-syllabic words, there is no way to determine the meaning of a Chinese character without having a specific word or context. In other words, a Chinese character only has a clear meaning when it is used in two-syllable or multi-syllable words.
II. Problems with the use of single-character gTLDs in the Han script
Due to the uncertain meaning of single Chinese characters, some of the problems caused by the acceptance of single-character gTLDs in the Han script can be predicted, but more problems may not be predictable. In particular, it is difficult to predict the scenarios where a single Chinese character is used for an implicit special purpose, or where a single Chinese character has one apparent meaning but in reality refers to another meaning.
In fact, the double or multi-letter English domain names currently in use in China are all abbreviated forms of multi-syllabic Chinese words in the English translation, rather than being derived from the Pinyin or phonetic translation of a single Chinese character. If these "translated" English domain names were to be "translated" back, they could not consist of a single Chinese character, but must consist of at least two characters.
It is not recommended to open up the Han script single character IDN gTLD until these studies are completed and community consensus is reached.