166 page report describes plan to completely scrap WHOIS as we know it.
Last year I wrote about a plan to scrap Whois as we know it and replace it with a new Registration Directory Service (RDS).
The initial proposal, created by an ICANN working group, was rather complicated and 49 pages long.
Now the Expert Working Group has issued its final report. It weighs in at 166 pages and is sure to be a hot topic at the upcoming ICANN meeting in London.
I read the executive summary and started wading deep into the report. It’s really long. It’s really complicated. The nuance will be debated for many years before anything like what is proposed is enacted.
Rather than get into the weeds, here’s my 30,000 foot view.
The proposal takes what is a very simple, yet somewhat flawed, system. It considers the competing demands of registrants, law enforcement, intellectual property interests…and creates an extremely complicated system. A system that will certainly have unintended or unanticipated consequences.
The report’s authors suggest that the proposal needs to be accepted in whole. Changing an item here or there will make the whole point of it crumble.
This reminds me a bit of plans to cut the debt in the U.S. A group gets together, comes up with a plan to accomplish the goal and says this needs to be all or nothing.
But of course it’s never all or nothing. Interests get involved, cut out the meat of it, and you’re left with something that doesn’t accomplish the original goal.
That’s what’s going to happen here.
If you care about Whois, you should read this introductory blog post and take a look at the report.
Grab a big cup of coffee before you get started.
this will have devastating consequences for the domain industry. buyers will not go through the added hassle to get ‘accredited’ to look up whois. will they let domains research tens of thousands of domains? will it be possible to opt out of this? i rather not have my information protected. one thing is certain, it will make email inquiries a thing of the past and while it *might* reduce whois spam, the fact that i won’t be easily able to research domains for hours every day as i do now makes me very worried for the future.
ICANNT.com – For when you want to undo something good.
Ha! Love it. ICANN-NOT do it, Captain! Look, the system may have a couple of flaws right now, but it’s simplicity is WHY it is a fairly easy system to use. If law enforcement or any government agency wants to get information on a domain on which privacy protection is enabled, a simple call to the NSA or a search warrant will get the information necessary. Same goes for civil lawsuits, where getting a subpoena issued can sometimes be easier than blinking one’s eyes. Trust me on this; I know it for a fact. WHO IS being protect or promised protection by this? Or, more likely, who is going to profit from this big change? ICANN has become a syndicate, in my opinion. I’ll brew a pot of coffee before reading this thing, I think.
google fraudsters have already crossed the line. at this point they can do whatever they want. it will be only a matter of time to see strong reactions, isolated or not, no matter: at the end of the war they will die (I am referring to their service, of course…)
This reminds me of the whole healthcare system. Government wants to hack something together and “fix it”, when it is not broken right now. This will eventually wind up costing domainers because of the extra systems that need to be developed and maintained. I for one don’t want it.
What happened to good old fashioned “being responsible for the domain you create”.
Do away with private domain registration and ensure there has to be a direct (and working) email contact, and legit details on all WHOIS entries, and the problem is solved.
Why over-complicate things by reinventing the wheel!
Is ICANN simply trying to make themselves still seem relevant by creating work for themselves? One has to wonder.
I don’t think people should have to put their phone number on WHOIS though