Public Comment
Proposal for Malayalam Script Root Zone Label Generation Rules – Second Public Comment Proceeding
Open Date
7 May 2020 23:59 UTC
Close Date
17 June 2020 23:59 UTC
Staff Report Due
23 June 2020 23:59 UTC
Brief Overview
Purpose: The Neo-Brahmi Generation Panel (NBGP) was formed by nine communities that use scripts derived from the Brahmi script. NBGP has developed Root Zone Label Generation Rules (LGR) proposals for Bangla, Devanagari, Gujarati, Gurmukhi, Kannada, Malayalam, Oriya, Tamil and Telugu scripts. The Malayalam LGR proposal (LGR and supporting documentation) is being updated to address an inconsistency involving the conjunct "nta" and adjust the cross-script variants with Myanmar and Georgian scripts.
As per the LGR Procedure, the updated proposal is being posted for Public Comments to allow those who have not participated in the NBGP to make their views known. Based on feedback received, the NBGP will finalize the proposal for its evaluation and re-integration into the Label Generation Rules for the Root Zone.
Current Status: Currently there are multiple script communities that have formed generation panels and are actively working towards developing Label Generation Rules for the Root Zone, including Chinese, Greek, Japanese, Korean, Latin, Myanmar, and Neo-Brahmi. LGRs for the following 16 scripts have already been completed and integrated into the RZ-LGR: Arabic, Devanagari, Ethiopic, Georgian, Gujarati, Gurmukhi, Hebrew, Kannada, Khmer, Lao, Malayalam, Oriya, Sinhala, Tamil, Telugu, and Thai. In addition, Armenian and Cyrillic scripts have also been completed, but have been deferred until related script proposals have been received. Bangla and Chinese scripts are being finalized by their respective GPs after the Public Comments. This updated version of Malayalam LGR proposal will be considered for re-integration into the next version of the Root Zone LGR.
Next Steps: Following the Public Comment period and submission of the proposal by the NBGP with any changes to reflect the public comments received, the Integration Panel (IP) will evaluate the proposal. If the proposal is successfully evaluated, it will be integrated into a subsequent version of the RZ-LGR. If not, the proposal will be sent back to the NBGP with comments for further consideration and revision.
Your Comment: Your submission, including responses to questions and your name, will be published in the Public Comment archive on ICANN org's website. If you have any questions regarding Public Comment, please contact public-comment@icann.org.
Section I: Description and Explanation
Following the Call for Generation Panels to Develop Root Zone Label Generation Rules, the Neo-Brahmi Script Generation Panel (NBGP) was formed by nine communities using scripts derived from Brahmi script. It was seated by ICANN on 26 May 2015. NBGP has developed Root Zone Label Generation Rules (LGR) proposals for Bangla, Devanagari, Gujarati, Gurmukhi, Kannada, Malayalam, Oriya, Tamil and Telugu scripts. The Malayalam LGR proposal (LGR and supporting documentation) is being updated to address an inconsistency involving the conjunct "nta" and adjust the cross-script variants with Myanmar and Georgian scripts.
According to the LGR procedure, the starting point for creating a script LGR for work of the Root Zone is the latest version of the Maximal Starting Repertoire (MSR). The work has been carried out following the specification of the generation panel's tasks, as described in the LGR Procedure, in particular, Section B.3 "Variant Rule Generation Procedure." These tasks are summarized in the guide on Setting up and Running a Generation Panel.
Each generation panel's proposals are posted for Public Comment. This permits those who have not participated in the generation panel to make their views known. A well-functioning Public Comment period is a critical component of this procedure because there is no formal appeal mechanism for the RZ-LGR being developed.
The LGR Procedure consists of two passes. The first pass creates a set of LGRs, each specific for a given script or writing system, and is carried out by a generation panel composed of people with deep experience or interest in the script, writing system, or language used by some community of Internet users. These panels submit their LGR proposals for review by an Integration Panel consisting of independent experts in the Domain Name System (DNS), and Unicode and scripts. The Integration Panel has responsibility for the second pass, which involves integrating the proposals into a unified set of LGRs for the root zone, taking into account the need for a secure, stable, and reliable DNS root zone.
Section II: Background
Label Generation Rules for the Root Zone (RZ-LGR) are being developed to define a conservative mechanism to determine valid Internationalized Domain Name (IDN) top-level domains (TLDs) and their variant labels, for the stable and secure operation of the Internet's root zone.
The successful development of Label Generation Rules depends on having community-based generation panels for each script that will be used in the root zone. Generation panel members are representatives from each of the communities that use a particular script or writing system and their role is to identify the valid characters, variants, and Whole Label Evaluation (WLE) rules for the given script or writing system. Each generation panel starts by considering the code points for the relevant script that are present in the Maximal Starting Repertoire (MSR) and, based on these, develops a Label Generation Rules proposal to be used to generate TLD labels for that script. In doing so, they may need to coordinate efforts with other generation panels whenever their respective scripts are closely related. These proposals are then reviewed by the community through Public Comment and by an expert Integration Panel for approval and integration into the LGR for the root zone. The details are defined in the LGR Procedure.
Section III: Relevant Resources
Proposal for the Malayalam Script Root Zone Label Generation Rules (LGR and supporting documentation).
Section IV: Additional Information
Related materials can be found at the following links:
- Root Zone Label Generation Rules: https://www.icann.org/resources/pages/root-zone-lgr-2015-06-21-en
- Maximal Starting Repertoire: https://www.icann.org/resources/pages/msr-2015-06-21-en
- Procedure to Develop and Maintain the Label Generation Rules for the Root Zone in Respect of IDNA Labels: https://www.icann.org/en/system/files/files/draft-lgr-procedure-20mar13-en.pdf
- Machine readable specification for the Label Generation Rules: https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc7940.txt
- Guidance on Designing LGRs Supporting Variant Labels: https://tools.ietf.org/rfc/rfc8228.txt
- LGR Toolset: https://www.icann.org/resources/pages/lgr-toolset-2015-06-21-en
- Repository of Guidelines and other relevant documents: https://www.icann.org/resources/pages/root-zone-lgr-documentation-2017-12-15-en
- LGR proposals already received: https://www.icann.org/resources/pages/lgr-proposals-2015-12-01-en
Comments Closed
Report of Public Comments