Re: Regional iTLDs Question

[Dr Nii Narku Quaynor <quaynor@ncs.com.gh>]

The discussion, I thought, is about structures for TLDs, DNS etc not
about content. We all want diversity in content but we need to avoid
random and unending definitions of TLDs.

The example of the Gas was only to ridicule the proposition.


Tierno S. Bah wrote:
> 
> Dr Nii Narku Quaynor wrote:
> 
> > I come from a distinct group of people in Ghana known
> > as the Ga. The legend say that we are descendants of the Jews.
> 
> Arabo-Muslims and/or Judeo-Christians prozelytizers
> (preachers/conquerors) and the subsequent colonial
> system imposed on most African communities the dogmas
> of Middle East-born monotheist religions. This was
> particularly the focus of the TV series "The Africans"
> by Dr. Ali Mazrui, who argued extensively on the interaction
> between religion and  African history. In my opinion,
> the Ga people share with many other African communities,
> the Islam or Christian myths and belief of an Oriental
> genesis of the world. I am a Fulani from Guinea. The Fuuta Jaloo
> islamic theocracy ruled part of pre-colonial Guinea and beyond.
> It, too, relied on legends and myths (as ideological and
> hegemonic artifacts) similar to the Ga's, with respect to
> the oriental genesis of culture and civilization...
> However, such claims may be just that.
> 
> > Our language is different and our customs are different.
> 
> This terse statement begs for some clarification. I hope it's
> not meant to be an absolute affirmation. For even though the
> taxonomy of African languages  is not as well documented as
> that of Indo-European and Romance idioms, most African languages
> share genetic or typological features with neighboring or distant
> communities. Therefore the question remains: what affiliations are
> out there between Ga and any other culture area in West, Central or
> Southern Africa?
> 
> > This is not a good criteria for iTLDs. These kind of things
> > have the potantial of hightening ethnic differences leading
> > to problems.
> 
> The current debate on iTLD has is partly rooted in the ethnocentric
> nature of the Internet. Quite a few French call it anglo-centric.
> Canadian experts are unrelenting on their frontal attacks, on this
> list and elsewhere, against the real or perceived US dominance of
> the Net. Notwithstanding the Web's GUI and friendliness, the Net
> is overwhelmingly an English-speaking and writing phenomenon. However,
> it's one thing to have English as the meta-language or machine-tool
> of the digital internetworking era: all IETF Drafts and RFCs are
> written in English --the de facto common denominator for scientific
> and technical production on the Internet. It's another thing to create
> and disseminate content on the Net, because content takes on a more
> sensitive dimension. It's almost always culturally, politically and
> economically embedded. Content publishing requires that the Internet
> evolves into an environment that underscores similarities while,
> at the same time, heightening diversity and, yes, ethnolinguistic
> identity.
> Also, the Internet must keep entry barriers low so that disenfranchised
> communities and individuals can take part in the online publishing
> revolution. That's what the i18n Draft, for instance, with its emphasis
> on character sets and HTML, clearly seeks to achieve: a truly
> multilingual
> Internet. i18n points to HTML's shortcomings but also defines methods
> for building an Internet that includes more languages than it does
> currently.
> Africa's rich and diverse linguistic landscape should leverage i18n and
> similar initiatives. African developers, ISPs, universities should
> implement
> it when becomes an RFC. But the written code by itself will not do for
> illiterate people. That's why the iTLD debate should include emerging
> technologies: streaming, compression, network appliances, etc.
> Ultimately,
> the challenges facing the Internet may be twofold:
> - it must strive to reach out interactively to the non-PC literate and
> to the illiterate in their native languages, idioms, dialects
> - it must appeal to traditional communities worldwide and particularly
> in
> Africa by fostering and heightening their heritage and their values.
> 
> As far as problems are concerned, they will always be around. The
> question
> is whether we evade them or face them in a genuine quest for solutions .
> 
> -Tierno S. Bah
> AfriQ*Access, Inc.
> 
> =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
> Midho yhawi e tulde gandun am           On my little knowledge I stand
> No mi yheewira nibhe majjere am.        To gauge the depth of my ignorance.
>         (T.S. Mombeya)