Re: [Ltru] [psg.com #1061] eliminate (or proscribe)Private Use Tags

["Mark Davis" <mark.davis at jtcsv.com>]

We can't say:

>> They MUST NOT be distributed beyond the scope
> >   of the relevant agreements.

since people doing the distribution may not know what the scope is.

>> Subtags intended for wider
> >   distribution MUST be registered.

This is not actionable. wider than what? If I am using a protocol that
transports language tags, is it incumbent upon me to examine the meaning of
all of them? I think not.

The only thing we can really say is that:
- don't use private use tags if you can at all avoid it
- the only meaning they have is up to private agreement between parties
- be aware if you do use them that they have no meaning -- or a different
meaning! -- outside of the scope of a particular private agreement.

Randy's original is better:

> (2) "Private-use subtags require private agreement between parties
>     intending to use them. Use great caution if employing them in
>     content or protocols intended for general use. Private-use subtags
>     MUST conform to the format contraints specified in the ABNF.
>     Private-use subtags are useless for information exchange without
>     prior arrangement."

Except that the "Private-use subtags MUST conform to the format constraints
specified in the ABNF." is redundant. ALL subtags must conform to the format
constraints specified in the ABNF. So I would just suggest the simpler

(2) "Private-use subtags have no meaning outside of a private agreement
between parties. They may also be given different meanings by different
private agreements between those or other parties. Thus they SHOULD NOT be
used wherever there is alternative, and they SHOULD NOT be used in content
or protocols intended for general use.

‎Mark

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "John.Cowan" <jcowan at reutershealth.com>
To: "Randy Presuhn" <randy_presuhn at mindspring.com>
Cc: <ltru at ietf.org>
Sent: Friday, July 08, 2005 16:37
Subject: Re: [Ltru] [psg.com #1061] eliminate (or proscribe)Private Use Tags


> Randy Presuhn scripsit:
>
> >  (4) "Private-use subtags require agreement between parties
> >   intending to use them. They MUST NOT be distributed beyond the scope
> >   of the relevant agreements. Subtags intended for wider
> >   distribution MUST be registered. Developers of private-use subtags are
> >   warned that, despite this prohibition, private-use subtags might
> >   "leak" beyond the scope of the agreement defining them.  This means
that
> >   applications making use of private-use tags need to be able to cope
with
> >   conflicting (same character sequence but differing semantics) and
unknown
> >   private-use tags.
>
> Let's go with this language and close the issue.
>
> -- 
> While staying with the Asonu, I met a man from      John Cowan
> the Candensian plane, which is very much like
jcowan at reutershealth.com
> ours, only more of it consists of Toronto.
http://:www.ccil.org/~cowan
>         --Ursula K. Le Guin, Changing Planes
>
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>



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