% Let me state my position on this simply as being an all-or-nothing one.
% If we want to do this stuff simply, quickly, easily, and (reasonably) safely,
% the only alternative is to go with a reasonably universal encoding that
% covers a wide range of character sets and looks reasonably nice to unextended
% viewers. This is essentially the "just use mnemonic" proposal that Bob Smart
% and I, among others, have advanced.
The assertion that mnemonic "looks reasonably nice to unextended viewers"
is only true for western European languages as I and others have repeatedly
pointed out. What is needed is a "reasonably universal encoding" for ALL
languages. Now I am happy to accept that Mnemonic is suitable for western
European languages, but we really do need some alternate method that works
well for ALL languages. Generality is desirable.
% [lots deleted here] ... -- if we are going to bite off more than
% minimal extensions (aka just use mnemonic) we might as well do the whole
% thing.
Yes please. Let's solve the general problem rather than solving only
the European problem.
Randall Atkinson
atkinson(_at_)itd(_dot_)nrl(_dot_)navy(_dot_)mil