Slashdot Mirror
Are Public WHOIS Records Necessary?
Logic Bomb writes: "CNN is hosting an interesting article from the Associated Press about WHOIS records. Privacy advocates do not like that the owner of a domain name, along with personal contact information, must be made public. It's an interesting issue embodying some larger debates, like whether one truly "owns" a domain name. A justification for public databases of registrants, given by one person quoted in the article, is that the domain name system is a public resource, and therefore you only own the right to use a domain name, not the name itself. People have a right to know who is controlling elements of a public resource, so whois records should be open to all."
Speaking as a network administrator, whois records perform a vital function. It allows admins from one site to be able to find and contact admins at another site when network problems occur. Problems such as routing issues security compromises and open mail relays. There is no better way to find out how to contact the maintainers of a network for operational problems than WHOIS.
OTOH, I dispise the commercial abuse of the whois database to spam those listed.
WHOIS should stay, with strict penalties for those proven to data-mine and spam listees; Without involving the legal system it could simply be ruled that anyone guilty of wholesale mining of WHOIS would be effectively removed from the internet by putting all of their registered domains on hold.
-- Greg
Slashdot, would a spell-checker for posting be too much to ask? It's not rocket science!
I'm really having trouble seeing this as something to get worked up over. If I build a house, it is possible for anyone to go to the deeds office and find out that I own the land, and even how much the county thinks it is worth. If it is a commercial building, they may even give out the blueprints and results of code inspections. How is a domain name different? If your message is so important that you are willing to pay a regular fee and obtain the appropriate resources to make it available, it should be worth making it possible to contact you. If whois is really such an anathema, there are many other options available: the free nameserver pages (cjb.net, et al), free pages hosted on geocities, I suppose freenet if that ever becomes functional. Aside from that, being able to be contacted in case of an emergency is important--when script kiddies take your machine and use it to DoS someone on your day off, wouldn't you appreciate a phone call? Or can you depend on someone getting your e-mail address when your pipe is full? IMHO, the best option is a central database for this kind of thing.
/* This post not warrantied for mission critical applications. */
Tansparency and openess is essential to a (socially) functioning internet, and that can only be acheived if the source of all information is public record. In British Columbia four or five years ago, it was uncovered (after a lot of investigative work) that a pro-forestry "citizens group" that did a lot of pro-job/anti-hippie lobbying of the government had in fact been set up, funded and controlled by a joint effort of Interfor and MacMillan Bloedell (two forestry companies). A massive abuse of public trust and gross misrepresentation to the public that put a whole pile of egg on both corporations faces.... the bottom line is that this organization masqueraded as a "citizen's group" for several years before being exposed, and only after a very exhaustive investigation by several media outlets and environmental groups...
2 1337 4 u!
sorry, this might be considered off topic, but i earnestly believe it's a sign of trouble when questions like this even have to be asked. Happenings like this prove that the internet is turning away from what it once was, a microcasm(sp) of the world, but one that was open and free(ish). There was etiquite, and those who abused the system were shunned. Not necessarily punished by "societal" standars, but certainly avoided and black-listed to a certain extent.
It seems to me that this is changing. The whois database used to be just a simple means of finding out who owned a website, getting their contact information, and then contacting them. Now-a-days, it's become a means of grabbing more email for spam, or for offers to buy the domain from them, or (in a worst case scenario) it helps people figure out who to sue.
Idunno, i look back and i think, when i started on the 'net, i saw it catching on and i thought this would be a great way for people to change their ways; learn to live in a communal environment where everyone played by the rules and those who didn't were swiftly and effectively dealt with...
seems to me rather than the internet changing us, we're changing the 'net.
FluX
After 16 years, MTV has finally completed its deevolution into the shiny things network
"It is seldom that liberty of any kind is lost all at once." -David Hume
I REALLY don't want disgruntled customers to have access to my home address. I can't give the registrars a phony address, though, because I can't risk losing my domain name because the renewal notice doesn't reach me. I also don't want to have to shell out the money for an outside mailbox service just for one letter a year. (With that volume of mail, I might miss my letter anyway.)
Add that to the registrar's claim that *they* really own my domain name anyway, and if they take it from me or accidentally "lose" it ("oops, well too bad for you") I'm out of business.
What can you say about a company that claims ownership of your property, can cost you your job, and puts your family's lives at risk?
What are they going to do next? Poison our water supply?
"Those who have never entered upon scientific pursuits know not a tithe of the poetry by which they are surrounded."
The WHOIS data publically available looks as follows:-
All companies who wish to administer and register domains apply to become members of Nominet, with membership you get a , this can be looked up and tell you who is technically responsible for the domain. Each domain registered is tagged with this and this allows me, with the correct PGP signature, to change any of the details on the domain.
It's up to the registering company to decide how their customers specify changes and many have automated systems of their own. And if you're wondering wether this would work for large domain spaces like .com, .org and .net then the answer is almost definately a yes - .uk is the largest country specific domain space - thanks to Nominet fees being just £5 (Thats $7.20) for two years. Some companies charge this and nothing else and many ISPs give domain names away simply for using their dial-up service.
Matt Thompson - Actuality - Insert product here.
Is your home address and telephone number on your website?
.com/.org/.net domains (gTLDs) should only be owned by legitimate businesses, who can afford premises and separate phone numbers. These provide a buffer between you and the disgruntled public. If you can't afford those, the message goes, stay off the gTLDs - or open yourself up to potential physical attack, abuse and harrasment.
No? Why not? It's not *terifically* private information; in most cases, anyone really determined could find it out. It could be useful to let people call you or send you gifts, or so that your friends can look it up to come to parties after you've moved house. But it's usual for people to be a little bit circumspect with their home address, and with good reason: "I know where you live" is a threat.
The bias here is basically that
--
Xenu loves you!