Re: Private Use Area

On Monday 18 February 2013 07:43:00 Erkki I Kolehmainen wrote:
> This looks quite clear to me. If I create something and somebody else uses
> my creation in the intended context, he agrees to my definition. his
> agreement is private, outside the standard, since the same code points may
> represent a multitude of different meanings. It may also be the result of a
> negotiating process within a special purpose user group.
>
> Sincerely, Erkki  

Erkki,
        This appears to be one of those intercultural misunderstandings that may be
difficult to grasp. To native users of english the term "private agreement"
is commonly understood to imply "private formal contract," something which
must be created before one can proceed.
        Perhaps the first paragraph of 16.5 should read something like:

Private-use characters are assigned Unicode code points whose interpretation
is not specified by this standard. Use of the private area code points may be
determined by individuals for their own use (for experimentation or in
non-shared documents) or by private agreement among cooperating users. These
characters are designated for private use and do not have defined,
interpretable semantics except by private agreement.

        This would make it clear that there is no need to obtain authorization from
e.g. the Unicode Consortium to use private area code points.

Leslie
Received on Mon Feb 18 2013 - 20:49:06 CST