Cultural representation on the Internet

November 23, 2007

Cultural representation on the Internet

.lat for Latino’s is being discussed in preparation for the ICANN board to consider next year.

Personally i think this is a fantastic idea. If successful, it will join; .cat (Catalans), .cym (Welsh language speakers) .asia (Asia) and .scots if successful.

For the first time we are seeing a global mindset change that the Internet is not best being geographically assigned up, but culturally and geographically.

Will we see a .maori ?. Over the years i have been involved in this discussion and planning. At that time there was no precedents to follow. Now, my opinion is that it would not be financially viable.

As a cultural group who descend from the Pacific, that we should consider a Pacific GTLD that is representative of all cultures in the Pacific. It would not be that hard to decide a name, considering our languages share copious words.

DISCLAIMER: This post is the personal opinion of Dr Karaitiana Taiuru and is not reflective of the opinions of any organisation that Dr Karaitiana Taiuru is a member of or associates with, unless explicitly stated otherwise.

4 responses to “Cultural representation on the Internet”

Anonymous

December 12, 2007

My question to all this is, when will we be able to get .pakeha.nz !?! Afterall, I’m neither welsh, nor scotish, nor english, nor maori!! I am unfortunately, one of an ordinary bunch of aotearoan citizens, who are quite simply, dotnzeder’s and have no ‘right’ to any thing else!!!

I belong to a ‘third class’ level of society, commonly referred to as a ‘pakeha’s’ which the current PC state in which we live, would NEVER allow us to use OUR culture or ‘indigenous identity’ as a basis for a second or even top level domain!

So my question is, if you REALY support ‘cultured’ domains, will you be making arrangements for us ‘pakehas’ to also have an extension, limited ONLY to pakeha’s?!?! Wouldn’t that be classed as ‘racism’?!?!

It is absolutely fundamental that the net be freely accessible to ALL people, otherwise, it loses it’s purpose. English has, weather we like it or not, become the ‘universal’ language of our era, and therefore should remain the primary language for all things pertaining to the web. By all means translate sites into ‘local’ dialects as well, but make sure there’s an english version as the primary.

URL’s aren’t called URL’s for nothing! They’re Universal Resource Locators, that is, they’re UNIVERSAL!!! So what’s the point in having URL’s written in Chinese characters, when my keyboard won’t even make them, and which the average universal user can’t understand?!!?

If the aims simply to diminish the power of the web, then why not just set up national level intranets?!?! That’s the essence of what is being done, instead of being excited about being able to look OUT on the world, certain groups are beginning to look IN, and with VERY closed minds I might add.

The web has, to a large degree, broken down huge barriers, instead of the world being divided by culture, we are now united. You Tube for example, is but one English site, and yet is happily used by millions, from all cultures an backgrounds!!

My suggestion? Open the web as it was intended to be open! Maori can buy ANY TLD or extension they want, so why on earth would you want to treat pakeha as third class citizens?!!? It’s only fair that everyone be able to buy any name they desire (provided of course that its still available!)

Reply
Anonymous

December 12, 2007

My question to all this is, when will we be able to get .pakeha.nz !?! Afterall, I’m neither welsh, nor scotish, nor english, nor maori!! I am unfortunately, one of an ordinary bunch of aotearoan citizens, who are quite simply, dotnzeder’s and have no ‘right’ to any thing else!!!

I belong to a ‘third class’ level of society, commonly referred to as a ‘pakeha’s’ which the current PC state in which we live, would NEVER allow us to use OUR culture or ‘indigenous identity’ as a basis for a second or even top level domain!

So my question is, if you REALY support ‘cultured’ domains, will you be making arrangements for us ‘pakehas’ to also have an extension, limited ONLY to pakeha’s?!?! Wouldn’t that be classed as ‘racism’?!?!

It is absolutely fundamental that the net be freely accessible to ALL people, otherwise, it loses it’s purpose. English has, weather we like it or not, become the ‘universal’ language of our era, and therefore should remain the primary language for all things pertaining to the web. By all means translate sites into ‘local’ dialects as well, but make sure there’s an english version as the primary.

URL’s aren’t called URL’s for nothing! They’re Universal Resource Locators, that is, they’re UNIVERSAL!!! So what’s the point in having URL’s written in Chinese characters, when my keyboard won’t even make them, and which the average universal user can’t understand?!!?

If the aims simply to diminish the power of the web, then why not just set up national level intranets?!?! That’s the essence of what is being done, instead of being excited about being able to look OUT on the world, certain groups are beginning to look IN, and with VERY closed minds I might add.

The web has, to a large degree, broken down huge barriers, instead of the world being divided by culture, we are now united. You Tube for example, is but one English site, and yet is happily used by millions, from all cultures an backgrounds!!

My suggestion? Open the web as it was intended to be open! Maori can buy ANY TLD or extension they want, so why on earth would you want to treat pakeha as third class citizens?!!? It’s only fair that everyone be able to buy any name they desire (provided of course that its still available!)

Reply
Karaitiana

December 12, 2007

A few comments:

1. Aotearoa/New Zealand have no third class citizens. Population statistics from NZ Stats verifies this and confirms that most Maori are also Pakeha/English.

2. There is policy for .pakeha.nz to be created. Details at http://www.dnc.org.nz . As the author for the .maori.nz proposal, i would happily assist anyone who is serious to apply for a new 2LD .pakeha.nz . You are correct, if .moari.nz was strictly only for Maori, indeed it would be racist and i doubt InternetNZ would have allowed the proposal.

3. Anyone in the world has a right to use any un moderated .nz domain including .maori.nz. My understanding that the TLD’s for other cultures can be used by anyone if the web site it is associated with promotes/uses that culture.

4. I can assume you are like me. I can not speak an Asian language, nor do i have an Asian keyboard. People who speak a non English language will have the tools to access and knowledge to read non English web sites. It does not effect me, yet it empowers non English speaking communities. No one is forcing me to learn and speak a new language.

5. The net is perpetually evolving, so ought its users perceptions. I for one would not be happy if i had to learn to communicate in a new language because English was no longer the Universal language.

Reply
Karaitiana

December 12, 2007

A few comments:

1. Aotearoa/New Zealand have no third class citizens. Population statistics from NZ Stats verifies this and confirms that most Maori are also Pakeha/English.

2. There is policy for .pakeha.nz to be created. Details at http://www.dnc.org.nz . As the author for the .maori.nz proposal, i would happily assist anyone who is serious to apply for a new 2LD .pakeha.nz . You are correct, if .moari.nz was strictly only for Maori, indeed it would be racist and i doubt InternetNZ would have allowed the proposal.

3. Anyone in the world has a right to use any un moderated .nz domain including .maori.nz. My understanding that the TLD’s for other cultures can be used by anyone if the web site it is associated with promotes/uses that culture.

4. I can assume you are like me. I can not speak an Asian language, nor do i have an Asian keyboard. People who speak a non English language will have the tools to access and knowledge to read non English web sites. It does not effect me, yet it empowers non English speaking communities. No one is forcing me to learn and speak a new language.

5. The net is perpetually evolving, so ought its users perceptions. I for one would not be happy if i had to learn to communicate in a new language because English was no longer the Universal language.

Reply