ICANN Working Group Seeks To Kill WHOIS

angry tapir writes "An Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers working group is seeking public input on a successor to the current WHOIS system used to retrieve domain name information. The Expert Working Group on gTLD Directory Services has issued a report that recommends a radical change from WHOIS, replacing the current system with a centralized data store maintained by a third party that would be responsible for authorizing 'requestors' who want to obtain domain information."

Comments

Re:not having read TFA

[icebike]

I'm fine with whois, even though it has been steadily degraded by private registrations recently.

I'm not convinced there is any realistic reason this information needs to be private, although I might feel differently if i lived somewhere else in the world where angry armed mods drag you from your home for expressing a view point. On the flip side of that, simply knowing that your information is available tends to induce better behavior on the Web.

But by and large, I think people should be able to know who owns a site, or who is fronting for the owner. It helps a great deal when trying to track down and report abuse.

I rather suspect mine is not a popular view.