Paul has volunteered (was Re: Overloaded URIs must GO!)

[Paul Prescod]

David Megginson wrote:
> 
> A very convenient (if inadequately persistent) way to accomplish that
> is to build Namespace URIs based on the URLs for Internet space to
> which people already have access rights.  Access rights are based on
> protocol as well as domain and branch, so there has to be some link to
> the protocol somewhere.

I submit that defining "access rights" in a protocol-independent way is
going to be extremely difficult. Therefore the proposal you forced me to
create will use email addresses which is slightly more tractable. Another
benefit will be shorter, simpler namespace URIs.

The idea that people will assign URIs hierarchically based on their HTTP
namespace has not take hold in practice although my specification will
support that for the rare occasions where it is useful. But consider, if
Andrew Layman makes a URN like this:

http://www.microsoft.com/msdn/xml/specs/schemas/

Consider how many levels of control are involved and how many
opportunities for screwing up persistence there are. The flatter the
namespace is, the better the chances of maintaining persistence.

Also consider ubiquity: some (arguably few) people have email addresses
but no web site.

-- 
 Paul Prescod  - ISOGEN Consulting Engineer speaking for only himself
 http://itrc.uwaterloo.ca/~papresco

Alabama's constitution is 100 years old, 300 pages long and has more than
600 amendments. Highlights include "Amendment 393: Amendment of Amendment
No.  351", "Validation of Laws Regulating Court Costs in Randolph County",
"Miscegenation laws", "Bingo Games in Russell County", "Suppression
of dueling".  - http://www.legislature.state.al.us/ALISHome.html

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