Universal Acceptance (`UA`) & EAI Measurement Methodology

Explore our standardized inspection framework, category taxonomy, scoring mathematics, and ethical testing guardrails.

1. Ethical Measurement Boundaries & Testing Guardrails

The Uganda DNS Observatory strictly differentiates between observational public inspection and controlled institutional form submissions:

Public Website Scanner (`Non-Destructive`)

Client-Side Form & MX Inspection

Evaluates publicly visible HTML `<input>` tags, client-side JavaScript regular expressions (`pattern`), and character length rules (`maxlength`). For mail servers, it opens a non-destructive TCP handshake on port 25 (`EHLO`) to verify `SMTPUTF8` advertisement without sending email payloads.

Authorized Form Test Engine (`Full-Stack`)

Controlled Lifecycle Evaluation

Requires explicit administrative authorization (`Authorized Test` status). Submits standardized test strings across network endpoints to verify database persistence (`Store`) and downstream rendering (`Display`), proving true full-stack compliance.

2. Test String Taxonomy (`Categories A through F`)

Category A

ASCII Baseline Domain Syntax

Standard traditional ASCII domain names within legacy top-level domains.

Test String: `example.ug`

Category B

Long New gTLDs (>4 characters)

Valid top-level domain extensions exceeding traditional 3 or 4 character length assumptions.

Test String: `portal.technology`

Category C

Internationalized Domain Names (`IDN`)

Domain names incorporating Unicode script or regional diacritics.

Test String: `uganda.ug`

Category D

ASCII Email Address Syntax

Standard ASCII mailbox names hosted on traditional or long domain names.

Test String: `info@pulse.dnsforum.ug`

Category E

IDN Domain Email (`ASCII@IDN`)

Standard ASCII local mailbox names hosted on internationalized domain names.

Test String: `contact@uganda.ug`

Category F

Full EAI Address (`Unicode@IDN`)

Full Email Address Internationalization containing Unicode characters in both local mailbox and domain parts.

Test String: `mgbh0fb@example.ug`

3. Scoring Mathematics & Pillar Weights (`0-100 Points`)

20%

Domain Acceptance

Can web forms and API inputs accept new gTLDs and IDNs without rejection?

20%

IDN Readiness

Does the application correctly parse, normalize, and resolve non-ASCII domain names?

20%

Email Acceptance

Do registration and customer contact forms accept EAI addresses (`Category E & F`)?

20%

EAI Readiness

Do institutional Mail Exchangers (`MX`) advertise `250-SMTPUTF8` across all priority records?

20%

Processing & Display

Are exact Unicode UTF-8 values preserved across database storage and UI rendering?