Re multiple URNs for same resource

Terry Allen (terry@ora.com)
Mon, 16 May 1994 17:34:02 PDT

Message-Id: <199405170034.RAA05029@rock>
From: Terry Allen <terry@ora.com>
Date: Mon, 16 May 1994 17:34:02 PDT
To: uri@bunyip.com
Subject: Re multiple URNs for same resource

Mitra writes:

| In particular, I would like it asserted that the correct situation is
| that a resource has one, and only one, URN, but that applications should
| acknowledge that in the real word, incorrect situations can occur.

It would not be incorrect that a resource has more than one URN,
or more precisely, that the same thing (identical) is known by
more than one URN. I publish a work, give it a URN from my
name space. I sell the copyright to you; you publish *the exact same
thing* and give it a URN from your name space. Nothing wrong,
or even unexpected, with that.

URNs as presently described are not uniform titles, nor do I think
this group wants them to be, from reading the discussion, because
a uniform title must be supported by more bibliographic overhead
than anyone wants to deal with right now. Nothing wrong with
that, either.

Regards,

-- 
Terry Allen  (terry@ora.com)
Editor, Digital Media Group
O'Reilly & Associates, Inc.
Sebastopol, Calif., 95472