Re: tlug: kanji or romaji for Japanese? (was: parallel-port IDE)

[Karl-Max Wagner <karlmax@example.com>]

> 
> On Fri, 16 Oct 1998, Karl-Max Wagner wrote:
> 
> > That's what I do mainly. In the Internet the decision has
> > already been taken: English rules. Whoever THINKS of setting up
> > a website these days in another language than English ( apart
> > from some cases with strictly local content that's not
> 
> My, what a sheltered world you live in.  Most of the web sites in Japan,
> regardless of content, are in Japanese, and Japanese only.   My (admittedly

True. That is what I meant with "strictly local content". At
least that is the effect. I for one wouldn't like to limit the
effect of a website I set up to just a single region. If
worldwide is what I can do, I'd go for it.

What it comes down to is: just using a local language is pretty
much the same as putting yourself into a virtual ghetto. If some
people like it that way, they're welcome. I for me don't want to
place myself in one ( nor does the majority of Europeans ).

> limited) experience with web sites in Chinese-speaking countries indicates a
> similar pattern.   There are apparently quite a few French web sites [1]
> that are either bilingual or in French only.  I have also encountered ones

French only is not that frequent. They're mostly bilingual.
French is only used for some local content. Technical stuff in
the vast majority of cases ins English. I sometimes have email
exchanges with French technical types. So far the exchange has
NEVER been in French ( despite my explicit offer in all cases )
but in English. They flatly refused using French for email.

> in various other languages, so while English is and will remain for a
> long time the most common language on the Internet, I think you overstate
> the case.  Moreover, as Internet access becomes more and more common outside
> of North America and Europe, the percentage of English web sites is likely
> to drop, not rise.  Why do you think HTML 4.0 contains so much more language

Not really. English already has been accepted in the ex east
block countries as well, and because they strive to joint the
international community as much as possible, they use English
( I know because eastern Europe is just around the corner
here... ).

> support than previous versions?

Well, they must make everybody happy. That's what a standard is
for after all.

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  But they called it                 karlmax@example.com
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