Keith Moore <moore(_at_)cs(_dot_)utk(_dot_)edu>:
"alternate DNS roots" aren't part of DNS. if someone wants to propose
a URN based on a DNS-like system with its own root zone, they're free
to do so and see if they can get support for it. For that matter if
someone wants to propose a URN based on some other naming system that
doesn't look like DNS they're free to do that also.
But trying to make "alternate DNS roots" fit into a DNS URI scheme is
like trying to make OIDs or some other naming scheme fit into a DNS
URI scheme. We don't need to do that - there's a separate scheme for
OIDs. And trying to do so would make DNS URIs far more complex than
they need to be - for no real benefit. For instance, how do you
assign names to the alternate roots?
By specifying the root name as a prefix?
I agree that alternate roots are not part of DNS as long as you
contrain your universe to be the ICANN/USG published set of DNS
names, but there are other things floating around the net that
do use the DNS protocols and do resolve names for people who
choose to use them.
So, if your universe is legacy DNS then you really have two
choices: consider expaning your universe to include everything
or ratify some scheme to provice some named calculus to the
DNS multiverse that exists today, comtemporary political
views to the contrary.
And what happens if people want
to set up their own registries of names for roots and assign separate
names to the alternate roots which c...
You can't force people to interoperate. But those who do are
at an advatage. So be it.