Currently, domain names in the .nz space only allow the 26 basic English (Latin) alphabet characters a-z, digits and the ‘-‘ hyphen. The Māori alphabet has an additional five characters, the macronised vowels ā, ē, ī, ō, and ū, which are currently not allowed in .nz domain names.

Some countries are beginning to implement Internationalised Doman Names (IDNs). IDNs allow the use of virtually any internationally recognised characters. This enables the registration of domain names in languages that use non-English characters, such as Te Reo Māori.

A working group (WG) has been established by the InternetNZ committee responsible for the .nz domain space, the .nz Oversight Committee, to consider the implementation of IDNs into the .nz domain name space.

The initial focus of the IDN implementation will be on the 5 macronised vowels required to correctly spell Māori words in domain names. It does not affect web content, which may already use any script.

For more information on IDNs a list of resources can be viewed www.dnc.org.nz/idn-links.

For this initial consultation the WG is seeking comments on the following

1) What issues do you think are associated with implementing IDNs? What is their impact, and how do you think they should be prioritised?

2) What other matters do you think the WG should consider?

Submissions closed on Wednesday 19 December 2007. All submissions are published on the DNC website at www.dnc.org.nz/idn-consult. .

Ngā whiriwhiringa mō ngā Ingoa Tomeina ā-Ao (IDN) ki Aotearoa

Tēnā koe

I tēnei wā, kāore e taea i ngā ingoa tomeina kei tua atu i ngā pū e 26 o te reo Ingarihi (Rātene), ngā mati me te tohuwehe ‘-‘. E rima atu ngā pū o te reo Māori, arā, ngā pūare kua pōtaengia ki te tohutō, ā,ē,ī,ō,ū. Kāore i te whakaaetia ngā pū Maori i tēnei wā ki ngā ingoa tomeina o Aotearoa.

Kua tīmata ētahi whenua te nanao ki ngā Ingoa Tomeina ā-AO (IDN). Mā te IDN taea ai te whakamahi i ngā pū ehara i te Ingarihi. Mā konei tareka ai te rēhita ngā ingoa tomeina ehara i te pū Ingarihi, tae rawa atu ki te reo Māori.

Kua whakatūria tētahi rōpū mahi (WG) te komiti Tiro-Whānui, te Komiti o InternetNZ kei te kawe i ngā take e pā ana ki te tomeina .nz. Ko tā rātou, he āta tirotiro, rangahau, whakaaro mō te kuhuna o ngā IDNs ki ngā ingoa o te tomeina .nz.

Ka tīmata ngā rangahau mō te whakakuhu i te IDN ki Aotearoa i runga i ngā pūare kua pōtaengia, e tareka ai te tuhi tika i ngā kupu Māori i ngā ingoa tomeina. Kāhore he pānga o tēnei kaupapa ki ngā kōrero kei te puku o ngā pae tukutuku, aha atu; inarā ka tareka te whakamahi i ngā momo tuhi katoa.

Mō te roanga atu o ngā kōrero mō ngā IDN me tētahi rārangi rauemi titiro ki www.dnc.org.nz/idn-links.

Hei tīmatanga ake kei te whai a WG i ngā urupare, ngā whakaaro ki ēnei pātai:

1) Ki ōu whakaaro he aha ngā take ka pā ki te whakamahi i te IDN? He aha ngā putanga o aua take, me pēhea te whakarārangi ko hea ngā mea nui, heke iho?

2) He aha atu ngā take hei whakaaro mā te WG?

Ka tae mai ana ngā tono ka whakairia wawetia ki te pae tukutuku a DNC kei www.dnc.org.nz/idn-consult.