Other Gems

 

Submission #: 100 (other 3rd party web hosting)

Overall, I think the Whois database being accessible to the public is most important to maintain public information for technically oriented people who need to know who to contact about redirecting a web site. Many of my clients forget who they registered with. Additionally, I think keeping the whois directory available keeps the registrars accountable for maintaining records and keeps ISPs up to date if their name servers haven't been updated for a few days.

 

Submission #: 1023 (non-commercial)

No web site owner should be able to hide from public scrutiny - EVER.

 

Submission #: 1209 (commercial)

I would like a clear "what happens when a domain expires" set of rules that are clear and enforced. - I lost out last year when a domain expired and the previous owner said we could pick it up when it came free - the previous owner could not be bothered to transfer it. I was checking every few hours (for several months) waiting for it to come free, to find someone else go it.

 

Submission #: 1274 (commercial)

I want my web traffic scripts to be able to track down anonymous visitors by ISP and country. This is only used where "hostname" resolution fails, so I don't need registrant's postal mail/phone number for this. When whois requests need to be forwarded to another authority (eg. whois.aunic.net) this forwarding should be in a machine parsable format.

 

Submission #: 1339 (other University)

I do not fully understand what does the point 5.e above mean. Does "to source unsolicited email" mean " to FIND THE SOURCE of unsolicited email received" or "to GATHER DATA for sending out unsolicited email" ??? I filled out the form assuming the first meaning (find the source of a received email).

 

Submission #: 1355 (individual)

Domain names are essentially businesses even when they are personal. I think the public therefore should be able to see who is running any internet businesses, which is won of the most important benefits of Whois.

 

Submission #: 1382 (isp)

accountability is the answer to all those questions

 

Submission #: 141 (commercial)

I decided that this questionairre, clearly intended to solicit public response, used terms like "ccTLD" and "gTLD" domains. I have no idea what my domain is, nor do I think I should care. Do not use such jargon without an explanation. As a corporate end user, I really have no interest in the fine semantics of domain names. I have one, whatever it is, and that is sufficient for me to know. It wouldn't hurt to add a paragraph defining your basic terminology.

 

Submission #: 1446 (commercial)

Your form does not allow for situation where you do not know the answer.... such as the registrars policy on 3rd party information access. Too technical as well.. Most people I know would have a hard time answering the questions on this form.

 

Submission #: 1507 (non-commercial)

I suport the submission by EPIC

 

Submission #: 1719 (individual)

Spam is out of control, and the fact that WhoIs has a database of emails for harvesting is one of the problems, in my opinion. However, I realize that this information is a vital part of the WhoIs database, and I don't know a way around it or have any suggestions. I just hope that you can find a way to keep the vital stats and still eliminate spammers use of your database for email harvesting.

 

Submission #: 2552 (non-commercial)

I would like to see more of these surveys from the ICANN. I believe they give the public a voice.

 

Submission #: 2635 (other Trademark attorney)

No changes should be considered

 

Submission #: 2636 (other Trademark attorney)

No changes should be considered

 

Submission #: 2637 (other Trademark attorney)

No changes should be considered

 

Submission #: 2638 (other Trademark attorney)

No changes should be considered

 

Submission #: 2639 (other Trademark attorney)

No changes should be considered

 

Submission #: 2640 (other Trademark attorney)

No changes should be considered

 

Submission #: 2891 (commercial)

The use of the com/net/org registry whois is vastly overrated by those who say it is indispensible. The real tool for just about everything -- from intellectual property enforcement to managing a network -- is the RIR whois that identifies those who manage given host computers by IP address.

 

Submission #: 2949 (commercial)

The worst part of any whois database is the abuse by online marketing companies. They mine the databases for mail and email addresses to send spam. I believe that any whois directory should have limits on the number of searches by any one IP address to prevent this. Registars (and others) who enforce a max search limit on thier visitors should have exceptions to allow for business uses. If a non participating IP address is over thier daily (weekly) limit they should only be able to see expiration date and name server information.

 

Submission #: 509 (other a, b, d, f)

Question 2 should have text available. I have several domains for different purposes, personal, non-commercial and commercial. Some are strictly for email, some for nameservers, some for websites, etc. Question 5 leaves out the possibility that what one wants is a technical contact to reach about problems e.g. spam, rather than the spammer. The entire survey minimizes the use of 'whois' for IP numbers, focussing on domain names.
Question 9 is a loaded question: the opposite of essential is not valueless but "unnecessary". In asking the question the way you do you leave no space for those who believe information may have "value" but still not be appropriate to be published. Almost any information has value. The question is whether the value exceeds the privacy cost. This entire survey is designed to minimize the chances that this view could be expressed. Who is going to say that the name of the registrant is 'valueless' - that does not mean, however, that it is either 'essential' or 'desireable'. This is, I repeat, a very biased an inappropriate question.
In addition, it does not break down the elements for contacts. The tech contact information does not need a postal address published. It needs only an organizational name, email and phone.
Question 17 gives multiple choice options for the status quo, and the extension of the status quo, but not for the obvious choice of *increasing* privacy. That requires survey respondents to type text of their own in a box. Again, the bias is against making it easy for people to express pro-privacy views -- yet it could hardly be a surprise that this is the main issue with the bulk access provisions of the contract.
Question 19 does not say whether the option of third-party registration would (a) be costly and (b) without prejudice to any legal rights. More importantly, the survey fails to ask if people want an "unlisted" registration (disclose but don't publish) as exists for telephone registrations in many countries.
It also does not offer an option whereby the third party is not an "agent" but simply a privacy bureau that will forward information to the registrant or admin upon legal order to do so.

20. a. Personal privacy is critical and should be protected against all predators including corporate interests. Children and families are stalked, legitimate registrants are harrassed and intimidated by covetous coroporate entities and small businesses are inundated, as are most registrants by spammers (including registrars). There is no good reason or need for anything other than tech contact to be listed publicly.
20.b. Privacy agencies can provide information to consumers with legitimate complaints against merchants by forwarding mail to the admin. Generally, the offending website will have company contact information for consumer affairs. The domain name registrant or admin usually has no input in customer service in any case.
20.c Again, a privacy agent can be used to provide information with a court order to law enforcement when necessary. It has always been the case that an order is necessary for anything other than a public phone number. The whois should operate under the same types of rules that phone companies have for publication of information.
20.d No minor's information should EVER be published. No family information should be published. This is why there should be only the tech contact information published. And then only the name, email and phone. There are many web and email servers run from SOHO's. There is no need to publish addresses and private phone numbers.
20.e This is the only information that is vital in the published information. Network administrators must be able to contact the tech contact for the domain for any number of reasons. However, it is only necessary to publish phone, email and org name.
20. f. None
20.g. None. IP interests have no place in the DNS. Website content should be the criteria for infringment allegations. Domain names have no place in IP cases at all. In addition, registrants should not have to bear the burden of policing marks. The Lanham Act is clear that the mark holder is resonsible for policing his mark at his expense. The cost to privacy is far more important than trademarks.
20.h The whois database is used as a weapon against consumers and users. It is abused by IP interests and spammers alike. Worse, even, are the perverted predators and stalkers who use the whois to find victims. It must stop.

 

Submission #: 799 (commercial)

The more restrictive we attempt to make Internet tools and applications, the more we can expect people pulling away from using it. Use of Internet technologies by the masses is still in its infancy. If you don't help infants to crawl before showing them how to walk, they will never find firm footing.

 

Submission #: 851 (commercial)

I feel that the general public lacks a fundamental understanding of the domain registration process, including who is responsible for maintaining the WhoIS database, its accuracy, and other means of accessing it.
ICANN can play a role. I think the U.S. Federal Government should provide funding to help educate the average consumer on ICANN's role, and the role's ISPs and Registrars play in the domain registration process.
Many of these questions posed in this survey assumed a technical knowlege which the average consumer does not possess. Although, I greatly appreciate the opportunity to provide input, and this forum.

 

Submission #: 867 (commercial)

WHY WE HAVE TO WAIT MORE THAN ONE WEEK FOR MODIFY A DOMAIN NAME ISP ????WHY ALL OUR ASK ARE WITHOUT ANSWER ??? YOU'RE THE MOST EXPENSIVE BUT NOT THE COMPANY WHO OFFER THE BEST SERVICE

 

Submission #: 874 (isp)

uh, questions 20a through 20h don't have any input elements. I'm using MSIE 5.0(2022) on a Macintosh. ??

 

Submission #: 889 (non-commercial)

Non-commercial entities should be provided the same protection for domain names as commercial entities. Bulk registration should not be allowed. It is only a gimmick to make money and serves no public purpose.

 

Submission #: 892 (commercial)

The current state of the domain initiative has inexplicably favored big business to the detriment of individual owners. ICANN for whatever reason has chosen to ignore common sense and rationality in dealing with this issue. Businesses do not have any more right to a name than an individual with the same name. Besides, Trade Mark Law in the traditional sense has specific areas where the protection is accorded. Yet many of the UDRP cases tend to ignore many of those principles. The various cases where certain business interests have gone after a registered name under the pretext of protecting their intellectual property rights without due recognition of the rights of individuals will undoubtably create problems in the future. I, for one, am interested in educating myself legally for that purpose. Many of the principals responsible for many of the injustice should be held accountable in a Court of Law. Many of these businesses hijack these names thanks to many of the stooges professing to act in the public interest. Many of them are acting based on what they will gain rather than what's right hence should not go scott free in my opinion. ICANN as an entity has proven itself not worthy or capable of the responbility of administering the affairs the Internet based on their many actions or lack thereof thus far. I am of the opinion that there should be a grass root movement to effect change and that should start with contacting the various elected representatives within the various constituencies. Those that have been thumbing their nose on the right of the general masses as it relates to the Internet and the domain names in particular should be voted out or in the least make it financially costly to retain their seats. May be they will get the message.

 

Submission #: 898 (individual)

I don't feel that privacy should be an issue regarding WhoIs - in fact, the privacy issue is more smoke and mirrors designed to protect the predator against it's prey. It's a lesson in contradiction. If personal privacy is ever to be maintained and respected, then greater strides need to be taken towards punishing the abusers, not in creating an even larger and more impenetrable "Thieves Bazaar". and once those strides are taken, then the most of the other considerations listed above become non-issues.

 

Submission #: 958 (commercial)

20b)A whois database that offers accurate domain name registrant information will inevitably assist consumers who are the victims of all types of online fraud. Due to the fact that control of content on a web site is determined by a domain name registrant, it is crucial that consumers be able to contact a domain name registrant when they become the victim of fraud as a result of their interaction with a particular web site. 20g)Trademark owners use whois on regular basis to learn the identity of cybersquatters: individuals who register and traffic in internet domain names with the bad faith intent to benefit from another’s trademark. Additionally, intellectual property owners use whois in order to determine the domain name registrant of a web site that engages in other illegal activity such as intellectual property piracy. Cybersquatters and pirates typically seek to avoid detection. The contact and ownership data in the whois system is the most reliable method that trademark owners have in determining the identity and location of the cybersquatter and/or pirate, thereby preventing consumer confusion. Additionally, the data from whois is crucial to establish a case under the U.S. Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act, the ICANN UDRP, as well as ccTLD dispute resolution policies and other legislation that assists intellectual property owners with respect to cybersquatting and piracy.

 

Submission #: 965 (other Small web host)

This is too long.

 

Submission #: 967 (other websupport)

to many questions - got bored

 

Submission #: 985 (commercial)

Could require WHOIS users to identify themselves so that those who have obtained data can also be identified and traced in cases of abuse