Warning to readers: this post is completely and totally my own opinions based on my efforts to assist with Tamil's representation in Unicode, and truly have nothing to do with Microsoft's opinions on the matter (whatever they are). If you quote anything from my words here as being 'According to Microsoft' then be aware that you are a complete moron whose only saving grace is that being a moron is a venial and not a mortal sin. You have been warned!

As I write this post, the lyrics of Roger Waters wash over me:

And if the cloud bursts, thunder in your ear
You shout and no one seems to hear.
And if the band you're in starts playing different tunes
I'll see you on the dark side of the moon.

It is quite ironic that these words, (from the song Brain Damage, on Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon), seem to so easily link to the insanity that I have seen from afar related to Tamil Unicode - New Encoding (TUNE).

You can see the introduction page for Tamil Virtual University's Request For Comments here.

What this standard amounts to is an attempted re-encoding of the Tamil script using Unicode's PUA (Private Use Area) in an attempt to make Tamil into a simple script (rather than a comple one), to build collation support directly into the order of the code points in the encoding, to encourage ISV's like Adobe to support Tamil.

The fact that this ignores the rules in Unicode related to the re-encoding of scripts that already exist, the fact that collation is never designed as a part of the order of code points in any language (even English!), the fact that INFITT (the INternational Forum for Information Technology in Tamil) and it's 'WG02' Unicode working group (of which I am a member along with several native Tamil speakers from around the world) is on record as disagreeing with the bulk of the claims and assertions made by TUNE supporters, the fact that the Unicode Technical Committee is on record as considering many of the fundamental aspects of TUNE to be entirely unsupportable -- all of these things are ignored.

After WG02 made its feelings clear on the matter, the TUNE supporters had their own working group created (WG08) and although I am officially the liaison between INFITT and Unicode, have never been given any communication related to TUNE to present to the Unicode Consortium (I have been told this is due to my obvious bias against TUNE, though no one from WG08 has communicated to Unicode through other means, either).

So yes it is a request for comments, but one in which if the comments are negative, the commenter can expect little more than to be ignored, or dismissed due to bias.

So there are two kinds of people here -- those who agree with TUNE, and those who are wrong.... :-(

Tamil Nadu has had a similar appoach to 8-bit standards, where they rejected the TSCII standard that was widely used outside of Tamil Nadu and instead formulated their own TAB/TAM standards. Historically their recent efforts in areas such as encodings and keyboards have not been as well received by members of the Tamil Diaspora as other orthographic changes in the language and script in the last 30-35 years.

Anyway, back to being out of TUNE. :-)

For those who are in Tamil Nadu:

"...TVU is organizing a one day conference for obtaining the public opinion and to deliberate on the comments received. The proposed one day conference will have an inaugural session, a session for open discussion in the forenoon. The conference will be held in the Clive Hall at Taj Coromondal Hotel., Nungambakkam during 9.30 a.m. on 2nd September 2006."

If any of my readers are in Tamil Nadu and would like to attend this one day conference, please let me know what happens (and if you contribute anything be sure not to mention you agree with anything I say, given my bias and all!). Given the step backwards that I truly believe this whole effort represents, I am truly hoping that those in Tanil Nadu and TVU who are championing the new standard can be finally convinced that they are out of TUNE....

The lunatic is in their head
The lunatic is in their head
they raise the blade, they make the change
They rearrange it; it's insane
they lock the door
and throw away the key
there's someone in their head but it's not me
And if bad standards thunder in their ear 
We shout and TVU doesn't seems to hear.
And if the standard they're in starts implementing TUNE 
We'll see them on the dark side of the moon.

This post brought to you by க் (U+0b95 U+0bcd, a.k.a. TAMIL LETTER KA + TAMIL SIGN VIRAMA, a.k.a. TAMIL KA puLLi, a.k.a. TAMIL LETTER K)
A letter that is separataely encoded in TUNE, along with several hundred othere)