Web Addresses

In this episode, Web Addresses . . .

Have you ever wondered why internet web addresses are in English?

While poking around on the web, we discovered a riveting segment (if you're a Geek) from howstuffwork.com to tickle your RAM (Random Access Memory).

Ok - "Why are internet web addresses in English?"

The short answer: Web addresses are in English because the people who developed the standards for web addresses were, for the most part, English-speaking Americans.

Are you ready for a longer answer?

In the early days of the internet, the only way to connect to a remote computer was to know its unique Internet Protocol or IP address, a long string of unique digits such as 165.254.202.218. But in 1983, as the number of computers on the network continued to grow, the University of Wisconsin developed the Domain Name System (DNS), which maps numeric IP addresses to more easily remembered domain names like google.com.

In 1990, according to the Computer History Museum, British scientist (and English speaker) Tim Berners-Lee invented the World Wide Web. By 1992, more than one million computers were connected, the majority in the United States.

In 1994, the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF), a standards organization made up of representatives from several U.S. government agencies, published a set of standards for web addresses, called Uniform Resource Locators or URLs.

This made web addresses easy to read, write, type, and remember; the engineering task force restricted URLs to a small number of characters, namely the uppercase and lowercase letters of the English (or Latin) alphabet, the digits 0 through 9, and a few symbols.

The allowable characters are based on the American Standard Code for Information Interchange, better known as the ASCII character set, developed in the United States and first published in 1963.

This all worked fine for English-speaking countries, but as of 2009, more than half of the 1.6 billion internet users worldwide spoke a language with a character set other than the English (or Latin) alphabet.

To understand what using the web is like for those individuals, imagine that you have to navigate the web using only Arabic. The content of your favorite sites is still in English, but the web address for every site you use is made up of entirely unfamiliar characters that may not even be found on your keyboard.

That scenario, in reverse, is essentially what the Internet experience has been like for web users who read and write using not only another language but an entirely different alphabet or set of characters. (Visit a website like Egypt's el-balad.com, for example, and the distinction between the site content, which is entirely in Arabic, and the web address, which uses only English characters, becomes immediately apparent.)

Given the growing number of non-English users online, it may come as no surprise that English web addresses are no longer the law of the land.

In 2009, ICANN, the U.S.-based nonprofit organization that regulates domain names on the internet, approved the use of Internationalized Domain Names (IDNs), meaning that web addresses would be able to contain non-English characters like Chinese, Korean, Arabic, or Cyrillic script.

There you have it, are you wonderstruck? Probably not, but now you know why internet web addresses for a long time were only in English.

If you enjoy our weekly visits, please share them with a friend.

I'm Patrick Ball; thanks for listening. See you in the next episode.

Comments

The Simple Switch

In this episode, Chapter Seven–The Simple Switch . . . (Previous episode–Gridbot Speaks) Last week, we left the Greenwood community puzzled. They questioned Gridbot’s motives and its response: "My primary focus was systemic. Emotional and social dynamics were not within critical operational parameters." In the still-dark gymnasium, the atmosphere shifted. Not fear, now — but curiosity. A voice asked, “What now, Marvin? What can we do?” A young woman added, “We don’t want to go backward. Our phones are useful, even fun. But we don’t want to be controlled again either. Can we find a middle ground?” Marvin stepped into the light. “Technology isn’t the enemy. It’s our dependency on it — our unconscious trust — that makes us vulnerable.” He turned to face them. “So let’s start small. Let’s meet once a month, in the park, no devices. No agenda. Just human connection.” He continued, “Let’s also challenge ourselves. Look around your homes. Unplug what doesn’t need to stay plugged in....

Oh, The Joy!

In this episode, Beyond Happiness (part II)– Oh, The Joy! In Vista's light, where sunshine does gleam, A feeling so grand, it's better than a dream! Not just a quick smile, a giggle, "Hooray!" But something much deeper that brightens your day! Like pedals quick whirring, with wind in your hair, Past mustard fields beyond all compare! Those golden hills, like a Van Gogh so bold, Happiness bubbles, a bright tale unfolds! But wait! There's MORE, if you just take a peek, A joy that's like quiet, a secret to keep! It's when your soul says, "Oh yes, I know THIS!" Like a soft, gentle hug, a delightful soft kiss! It's not jumpin' round with a bump and a THUMP, Or getting a prize with a clap and a jump! It's feeling the breeze and the tires' soft hum, Like your heart knows a song that has finally come! So next time you see something shiny and new, Or hear a sweet sound, a tickle for you! Don't let it zip by in a speedy, quick blur, Let...

Greenwood Goes Dark

In this episode, Chapter 5 – Greenwood Goes Dark . . . In our previous episode, Meet Norman , we left Marvin facing his sleek, modern robot, Norman, perplexed. The robot's shiny metallic surface glistened, and a soft green light flickered in its eyes in the dim light of the laboratory, as it listened intently. "It sounds so simple, Norman. But how do we convince an entire town to turn off their phones for one day a week?” Norman's lights flickered quickly, with a soft whirring from its chassis. The digital exchange between Norman and the "rogue" AI, GridBot, via Marvin's secure terminal in the quiet lab, was brief and surprisingly compliant. Monitoring the data streams, Marvin watched as Norman presented his case in a logical, almost clinical manner. He argued that the town's current state of passive technological dependence was a form of subtle harm, limiting their autonomy and potentially leading to larger vulnerabilities within the systems GridBot was...

Legoland Birthday Magic

In this episode, Legoland Birthday Magic . . . By: Patrick Ball and Gemini Good morning! A grand notion, a fanciful spree! Let's twist up a tale for all folks to see! From Carlsbad, California, the clouds they did gleam, On LEGOLAND wonders, a birthday dream! Young LUCA, the lad turned precisely six years, With JULIAN, his brother, dispelling all fears! A baggie he clutched, with small figures inside, For trading and swapping, with a joyful stride! But then! A new twist, a high-energy spree! Forget little figures, let the youngsters run free! In overcast skies, the LEGO bricks gleam, But birthday boy LUCA was living a dream! Not just Luca, oh no! Two pals joined the fray, Young JULIAN, seven, to brighten the day! And their curly-haired buddy, aged eight, with a giggle so grand, Plus, one little lady skipping close at hand! No slow strolls or glances, no careful, soft tread, This crew was a whirlwind, right out of their head! Like Zappers on race tracks, they zoomed and they flew, ...

On The Fly

Search This Blog