Internet Society (ISOC) All About The Internet: Issues

ISOC's Public Policy Activities Principles Strategic Global Engagement Community and Partners Key Issues Internet Governance User Centric Internet Internet Events Calendar Worth a Read Advisory Groups Help Support Public Policy Activities

Topics

Access Capacity Building Domain Name System Innovation Intellectual Property IP Addressing Multilingualism Privacy Security Spam Standardization

Key Issues

The Domain Name System

Names and Naming

Although some may think of the DNS solely as a technical system, the practice of naming raises many important social and cultural issues. Names and naming are also part of the broader issue of multilingualism.

DNS, names and naming: Concepts and questions

Culturally appropriate naming

The DNS is a global database, but words and names can have many different meanings and implications in variety of local contexts. The following articles give an overview of these issues:

White Paper on Names and Naming
by S. Laing and J. Klensin, August 2, 2006 (PDF: 60KB)
Culturally-appropriate Local Environments and a Global Internet - Supplemental Information and Readings by J. Klensin, PRELIMINARY VERSION - May 9, 2006 (PDF: 127KB)
Culturally-appropriate Local Environments and a Global Internet by J. Klensin - May 11, 2006 (PPT: 216KB)