Re: [ga] WHOIS policy primer

[Sandy Harris <sandy@storm.ca>]

DannyYounger@cs.com wrote:
> 
> Todd, you wrote:  << there MUST be some way of registering a data base
> wherein the owner operators of domains are accessible. >>
> 
> I have an unlisted phone number.  Law enforcement entities have no difficulty
> gaining access to my contact information.  If I create a situation where my
> vanity phone number is confusingly similar to that of another, the IP folks
> can attempt to subpoena my information through the legal system.  I don't
> need to hand it to them on a platter just because they want to go on fishing
> expeditions.  The same principles should apply in the domain name system.

It is not at all clear that the same principles apply. 

In the case of the phone number, the only people who may need to
contact you about network issues are the phone company, and they
certainly know how.

In the case of a domain, an administrator anywhere on the net may
need to contact you, and quickly. Suppose one of your users is
spamming, or some EvilDoer has subverted one of your machiness and
is using it a a base for attacks on other systems. I'd say it is
absolutely necessary, to keep the net running, that some mechanism
exist to get a technical contact quickly. 

The contact might be an administrator at the ISP, not the domain
owner, and the information might be made available through some
mechanism other than whois. For example, we might add a DNS record
type to hold this info, or just require that addresses like abuse@,
webmaster@ and postmaster@ be valid. However, neither adding
things to DNS protocols nor enforcing address validity is easy,
so at least in the short term, I think we need it in whois.

One way or another, the technical contact info must be available. 

Whether the owners must be accessible -- e.g. for libel suits,
copyright complaints, law enforcement, etc. -- is a completely
separate question. My take on that is that getting such
information should require a warrant or supoena.
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