On Mon, 27 Oct 2003, Mark Davis wrote: > Based on what I've seen, I think it quite likely that people will want email > addresses in their native script, even if that means that outsiders can't > (easily) use those email address. That may well be the case. > We should remember that for a great many people in the world, Latin > letters are quite unnatural; it'd be a bit like if we had to use Greek > letters in all email addresses. And there are many projects underway in > less-developed countries to bring computers to masses of people that > will even less familiarity with Latin letters. I am not convinced that it is possible to use a computer on the Internet anywhere in the world without at least a basic acquaintance with Latin script. I do not believe many individuals (other than primary school children) are literate in their native language but are completely illiterate in Latin script. This does not mean "being able to read or write the English language"; rather, this simply means knowing the Latin script alphabet. Put another way, individuals who are completely illiterate in Latin script are also likely to be illiterate in their native language script as well. No other script on the planet has such international recognition. There is undoubtably a *preference* for one's native script; and that preference should be respected as much as possible. -- Mark -- http://staff.washington.edu/mrc Science does not emerge from voting, party politics, or public debate. Si vis pacem, para bellum.