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Are Public WHOIS Records Necessary?

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the subterfuge-shadows-black-ops-shhhh dept.

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."

4 of 122 comments (clear)

  1. WHOIS should stay. by Greg@RageNet · · Score: 5

    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

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  2. Is this really such a big deal? by vheissu · · Score: 5

    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.

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  3. I "abuse" it by Frymaster · · Score: 5
    Wow, am I going to be unpopular...

    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...

    ... and I might be wrong, but I think they got 'em with a domain registration...

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  4. Watch it. sonny. I know where you live. by Paul+Crowley · · Score: 5

    Is your home address and telephone number on your website?

    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 .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.
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