[nc-whois] RE : DRAFT points on Final Conclusion (sec. VII)
As volunteered during our last conference call (but a few days later than my stated deadline, for which I apologize), here is a first cut at points to appear in the Final Conclusion section (VII) of our report. As suggested on the call, and to speed up review in light of our impending deadlines, I am sending to the full list and not just to the section VII subgroup. This draft is an effort to boil down what we learned from the survey to a page and a half of prose. Inevitably it is "big picture" but I hope accurate. At least it gives us something to shoot at. Among other developments that could change this is the output of the other groups as they finalize other sections, and the analysis of the Q. 20 free form responses. For those who may have difficulty opening the Word attachment I paste the draft text here. Steve Metalitz DRAFT Bullets for Conclusion of Report (Sec. VII) · The survey results are a useful addition to ICANN's decision-making process. While not a scientific sample, the 3000+ responses make this the most comprehensive survey ever undertaken regarding Whois, and respondents represent a good cross-section of Whois stakeholders. Some of the survey results are ambiguous (due in great part to shortcomings in the survey instrument), but many are clear-cut. · The survey documents the variety of legitimate uses frequently made of Whois data. Respondents rely on this data to support technical and security operations; to determine the identity of a party responsible for a site visited online; and to assist in the enforcement of intellectual property rights, among other uses. Effective identification and the resolution of technical problems led the list when respondents were asked to choose their main concern regarding Whois, with privacy issues identified by a minority of respondents in all groups. · Survey respondents generally appeared satisfied with the data elements now contained in Whois, with only relatively small minorities asking either for more data or for suppression of data that is currently collected. Nearly half had encountered problems with inaccurate or incomplete Whois data, though most thought that only a small percentage of the database was involved. Most respondents wanted the ability to search Whois on data elements other than domain name. · Although fewer respondents used Whois in ccTLDs than in gTLDs, there was strong support for the concept of uniformity of Whois data formats and service throughout the domain name system. A centralized point of access to all Whois was also a popular idea with the strong majority of these respondents, and most of them felt that registrars or registrants, rather than Whois users, should pay for the cost of this service. · Many respondents appeared dissatisfied with the gTLD status quo in terms of limitations on marketing uses of Whois data, which currently operates on an opt-out basis. Half the respondents thought such uses should be banned altogether, with most of the other half choosing an opt-in regime over opt-out or an unregulated environment. However, when asked to react specifically to the contractual bulk access rules now in effect, at least half the respondents appeared to choose the status quo and to call for it to be extended to ccTLDs, thus adding a note of ambiguity to the results. Half the individual respondents expressed interest in the existing provisions allowing registration of domains in the name of a third party, but this option found less favor with most other groups of respondents. · [Question 20 summary to be provided based on Abel W. report] The overall picture provided by the survey is one of general satisfaction with the Whois status quo. It appears to be an important service upon which a number of segments of the community rely to carry out vital technical functions and to provide needed transparency and accountability. The main areas of dissatisfaction seem to be the following: · More robustly searchable Whois, including the ability to search on a multiplicity of data elements. · More uniformity of Whois services throughout the Domain Name System, and a centralized point of access to a multiplicity of cross-registry databases · Tighter restrictions on commercial and marketing uses of Whois data · Improving the accuracy and reliability of Whois data The survey results suggest that these are the areas in which the Names Council should concentrate its efforts to articulate the evolving community consensus with regard to Whois, while reaffirming the existing consensus with regard to Whois data elements, public accessibility, and unrestricted uses outside the commercial/marketing arena. - Domain Names Whois TF DRAFT final conclusion bullets sjm 051302.doc |