[nc-whois] report

["Oscar A. Robles-Garay" <orobles@nic.mx>]

This is my report on todays conf call.
Any doubt don't hesitate to reply.

The trends are shown in order of relevance from the initial 150 out of
300 hundred random responses.

Question No. 5 (Another purpose of WHOIS, other than those already
defined in the survey)

Trends

1.      

Many
of the responses that checked this option specified some level of 
“Technical reasons”

2.      

And
others simply for Ownership information

Surprising elements
For entertainment! (it was only one response, from a customer with
ten domain names registered)



Question No. 6 (Primary concern: e, other.)

Trends

1.      

Accuracy

2.      

Privacy
of individuals information



Question No. 7 (Ever harmed by bad Whois data? Description of
Harmed)

Trends

1.      

Incorrect
information and difficult to get the true identity of spammers or
cybersquatters

2.      

Some
of the users reported that many domain names are hidden behind Registrars
identity on the WHOIS database

Surprising elements
Some users/customers may tend to believe that the data accuracy is
sole Registry responsibility



Question No. 7 (Ever harmed by bad Whois data? How to
improve)

Trends

1.      

To
make mandatory for registrants the accuracy of whois data

2.      

To
establish punishment to domain name owners with inaccurate or outdated
information

Expectations
Users expect to have a way to check for identity and formality
through the WHOIS.
Want to have detailed information for availability of domain names after
expiration

Good ideas/details
Inaccurate records are mainly because of lack of penalties for
inaccuracy
Verification mechanisms (testing before registration, periodical contact
with domain nae holders)
Standardization/centralization whois services
To allow anonymity in non-commercial domain names, for privacy
protection
Knowing the identity of a domain registrant is not as important as the
ability to contact someone at the domain who is responsible for resolving
network management issues



Question No. 8 (If inadequate, what to add what to
drop)

Trends

1.      To drop postal address, phone and fax info

Surprising elements
There were some responses that choose to drop most of postal address,
email, phone, registration or expiration date elements

Expectations
Privacy protection



Question No. 10 (WHOIS enhanced capabilities)

What
Should Whois provide enhanced capabilities, who pays?

Trends

1.      Domain name registrations

2.      

The
search users (subscription, per results, per search, etc)

3.      

Registrars


Good ideas/details
Available only to professionals… (what ever that means)
Have different levels of service depending on fees



Question No. 12 (Should ccTLDs provide same elements as gTLD
whois? (Why or why not?))

Trends

1.      

Yes.
Uniformity and reliability. Easy to use for end users.

2.      

No.
Costs. Sovereignty. Different applicable laws.

3.      

Recommended
yes, but not compulsory.

Expectations
Ideally al TLD should have the same information.



Question No. 13 (Should the whois service be uniform, how to
achieve)

Trends
1.

      

Yes. Policies
(ICANN, Contracts, etc) and technically (protocols, software)

2.      

No.
Bad use risk. Expensive.

Good ideas/details
Uniformity only at the end user/presentation level/layer.
A mirror of original DB for every TLD in a centralized service with
basic/uniform features.



Oscar