At 18:00 +0900 2008-07-26, Kyaw Tun wrote:
Dear All,
I would like to explain why Myanmar computer users conception on font.
I have my doubts as to whether you speak for Myanmar computer users.
- As mentioned in Ko Ngwe Tun's previous
discussion, we use internet cafe computers and have less option for installing new fonts or browser based addon.
IT experts in Myanmar should certainly be encouraging internet cafés to migrate to Unicode 5.1. And if there are Facebook or Flicker sites using non-Unicode encodings, those should also be encouraged to migrate, as Htoo and I have been trying to do with the Wikipedia.
- Myanmar Unicode has history of breaking
previous version and luck of migration support. It is rather strange that there is NO convertor available for myanmar1 (Unicode 4.0) to myanmar2 (Unicode 4.1) or myanmar2 to myanmar3 (Unicode 5.1).
It isn't Unicode's place to make such a converter. The owners of myanmar1, myanmar2, and myanmar3 should have a care for the problem. But there *are* converters available for text conversion.
People don't trust to follow Myanmar Unicode now.
Your website encourages them not to, doesn't it?
People even think Unicode Font is government stuff.
It *is* government stuff, from a certain point of view -- it is an ISO standard. ISO has its mandate from the United Nations. The Union of Myanmar is not a Participating Member in the work of the ISO Subcommittee responsible for the Universal Character set, but your government did send experts (including U Ngwe Tun) to help us do the work, and indeed they invited me to come and help sort the problems out.
- Unicode font are not redistributation (yes
wrong, but it is what people think). This result low uptake of Unicode Font on web site. A web site will not be happy to ask visitor to welcome with "please go to this web site to install Unicode 5.1 font". A preferable solution is as provided by Zawgyi publisher that freely redistribute on any web site.
Zawgyi is by no means "preferable". If you were responsible you would be doing everything you could to withdraw the old Zawgyi encodings and encourage people to use Unicode.
I am sure that Htoo and I will be happy to help convert your font once we have finished with Anawrahta.
(That is a **genuine** offer made in friendship and good faith -- and I make it advisedly, as I am still very angry with you for your slanders about Anawrahta and me and Htoo.)
- Free Unicode fonts offer low quality. As
webmastering in many web sites, I know all three Unicode 5.1 fonts are not visually acceptable quality.
This is your opinion.
- Unicode font input methods are low quality,
extra cost or branding. Zawgyi uers has long being enjoy phonetic input.
Zawgyi users are forced to encode their language texts in a non-standard way. This will only hurt them, and Myanmar, in the long run, as it does in the short run.
I really think Myanmar Unicode uptake will take a long way, may be two more years at least to change the people perception.
You should make it a priority to help change the perception.
Myanmar Wikipedia should not take the burdon. At bottom line, Wkipedia is providing knowledge, not font. Also people don't think Wikipedia is good enough to install a new font.
The Wikimedia Foundation will make a decision as to what they want to do. Htoo and I have made an attempt to get things going.
One thing to Mr Everson. I know Unicode standard fonts are the way to go and Zawgyi is not. He talked a lot of rubbish. In this mailing list, everybody understand important of Standard. But most don't know is how to make the Standard widely use.
Continuing to support Zawgyi encoding isn't the way to do it!