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jgkolt
Premium
join:2004-02-21
Lakewood, OH
clubs:
| illegal isnt it illegal to falsify the information there? I think there are sites that register it in their name but yo are the owner. like privacy guide. Since i used the privacy option from my registrar i get next to no spam on my webmaster emails
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3 free for you/3 free for me: Investing Trades : PM Me | |
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Devanchya
Smile
Premium
join:2003-12-09
Ajax, ON
 ·Bell Sympatico
| Re: illegal I've only ever had ONE person contact me via who is. It was someone who was looking for a person with my name and a bad debt.
I've marked it private since then... just because.
Really the whois was meant to contact someone who was having server issues. Really not needed as much now. | |
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kruser
Premium
join:2002-06-01
Saint Louis, MO
clubs:
·AT&T Southwest
| Re: illegal said by Devanchya  :I've only ever had ONE person contact me via who is. It was someone who was looking for a person with my name and a bad debt. I've marked it private since then... just because. Really the whois was meant to contact someone who was having server issues. Really not needed as much now. I was contacted by someone wanting to design my website within days of registering the name.
He said he got the info from whois.
I made it private right then and never had another problem.
I also thought it was a matter of policy that a running site has a webmaster email address in place for people to contact you if needed.
I'm sure this is highly abused and I never did setup that email. | |
| | | fiberguy
My views are my own.
Premium
join:2005-05-20
| I've heard MANY horror stories of mis-use from the WHOIS.
To be honest, privacy should be MANDATORY. If people want to contact you, they can use the proxy.. and that way registrars can monitor abuse.
However, getting rid of the WHOIS all together is not a good idea either. With all the domain sniping out there, there are legitimate uses for having that information available. Obviously, people are going to want to work to get the domain back - which sometimes fails no matter what you offer, and, other legitimate ISP uses for having it open.
But, I agree on the privacy issue.. people shouldn't have to give out their life story and personal information to register a domain, NOR should they HAVE to pay to mark it private.
my 3 cents.
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"Complaining is the least path of resistance for the self-serving, the lazy, and I’m told it’s a woman’s prerogative..." | |
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major marco
Res Firma Mitescere Nescit
Premium
join:2003-02-13
Stepford, CA
clubs:
| Re: illegal said by fiberguy :.. people shouldn't have to give out their life story and personal information to register a domain, NOR should they HAVE to pay to mark it private. my 3 cents. Don't be so @#$%^ melodramatic. A real name and viable address is not a life story. If you're worried about junk mail/stalkers then rent a mailbox and use that as your mailing address. If you're concerned the contact # will be harvested by telemarketers and abused, then either register with the National Do No Call list and/or get yourself a free voicemail only telephone #. They're freely available all over the net. All you have to do is look for them.
Incidentally, I have yet to have any of my information abused and I have yet to meet any other domain registrants crying about information abuse. People crying about same are the shady characters whose contact information provides the sunlight needed to disinfect these people.
The bottom line is that there is absolutely no good reason not to have the contact information available. First and foremost, it promotes accountability. If people have to provide their contact information, it will make them that much more in tune with what is going on with their domains vs pleading stupidity and otherwise hiding because they don't want to be bothered when their legitimacy or lack thereof is called into question.
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The Toll
Let's Go Flyers!
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| | | | | fiberguy
My views are my own.
Premium
join:2005-05-20
1 edit | Re: illegal said by major marco :said by fiberguy :.. people shouldn't have to give out their life story and personal information to register a domain, NOR should they HAVE to pay to mark it private. my 3 cents. Don't be so @#$%^ melodramatic. A real name and viable address is not a life story. Tell that to woman who have been tracked, raped, and murdered in the past from the very abuse of the WHOIS. Thanks.
Want another good reason? Post a website that is what people may call controversial. People have a right to be controversial in this country. People will often look to the WHOIS and make death threats. Some people, unknowing, will register their domain, post their website, piss people off that disagree, and then their life is a mess.
1) People don't always know that their information is available to anyone.
2) Privacy should be considered first.
3) People have a right to say their peace and not get death threats and should not have to pay extra to have this data abused.
And 4) don't tell me NOT to be &*(#$&(*Q# dramatic again. Stay on topic..
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"Complaining is the least path of resistance for the self-serving, the lazy, and I’m told it’s a woman’s prerogative..." | |
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major marco
Res Firma Mitescere Nescit
Premium
join:2003-02-13
Stepford, CA
clubs:
4 edits | Re: illegal said by fiberguy :Tell that to woman who have been tracked, raped, and murdered in the past from the very abuse of the WHOIS. Thanks. That's a great emotional argument devoid of all logic and common sense. Where are the stats to give an idea of how many women who have registered with WHOIS have been raped/abused/murdered if at all? Why haven't we heard from the various women's safety advocacy groups en masse protesting WHOIS? And for that matter, where are the consumer privacy advocate groups? The AP article in the headline of this thread was conspicuously silent on that count.
I tend to look to orgs like PrivacyRights Clearinghouse for my privacy info yet they haven't made a peep about WHOIS, and, what's more, there aren't any stats/info available on their site crying about WHOIS privacy violations. If you take a look around that site, you'll see it is mighty comprehensive as to consumer privacy. But strangely, they haven't said a word about these alleged privacy violations mentioned in the AP piece by these phantom "privacy advocates."
As I've stated above, secure a rented mailbox and use that as your mailing address. If you can afford the cost of a domain and a website, then you can afford a rented mailbox.
No doubt there are stats to back up that plenty of people have been stalked/raped when they lost their driver's licenses, but I have yet to see either the feds or any state government banning/redacting the address of the driver on DLs because harm may come to someone in the event s/he loses his DL. The same advice as to the rented mailbox is applicable here. I have my mailing address on my DL as opposed to my residential address for this very reason b/c sometimes I lose shit and don't know it for days after the fact.
said by fiberguy : People will often look to the WHOIS and make death threats. Some people, unknowing, will register their domain, post their website, piss people off that disagree, and then their life is a mess. So because the possibility exists that some may be adversely affected by the registrant of a domain having to provide viable contact info, we should just outright ban WHOIS? Sorry. Not buying that argument. Three inches of water in a bathtub drown ungodly amts of people each year, but I don't see a move to ban bathtubs or water to protect the stupid/negligent.
said by fiberguy :1) People don't always know that their information is available to anyone. That's what so great about the internet. Information is free and if you have 2 spare brain cells to rub together, you conduct your due diligence and learn. Don't want to do that, tough cookies.
said by fiberguy :2) Privacy should be considered first. We're not talking about SSNs. Just a simple address!
said by fiberguy :3) People have a right to say their peace and not get death threats and should not have to pay extra to have this data abused. Use a rented mailbox and a vm # as your registrant info and conduct yourself accordingly to mitigate the propensity to be threatened.
said by fiberguy :And 4) don't tell me NOT to be &*(#$&(*Q# dramatic again. Stay on topic.. You are being highly melodramatic here because we are discussing viable contact information that need not necessarily be your residential address or landline.
The bottom line to all of this noise is that the so called "privacy advocates" who are behind wanting to close off the contact information of website registrants are corporate entities and other miscreants whose goals are to stop the flow of information to consumers who can then hold them accountable.
Don't fall prey to some flimsy argument that alleged "privacy advocates" are concerned about the WHOIS database. If that were the case, then where is the EFF? EPIC? UCANN? Junkbusters? Daniel Solove? Eugene Volokh? How about just a quickie opinion from Bruce Schneier?
The silence from the above-referenced consumer privacy advocates is deafening.
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The Toll
Let's Go Flyers!
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sporkme
drop the crantini and move it, sister
Premium,MVM
join:2000-07-01
Morristown, NJ
 ·Optimum Online
| said by Devanchya :Really the whois was meant to contact someone who was having server issues. Really not needed as much now. Totally needed still. At work I need to regularly use it both for reporting abuse issues and getting a tech contact for doing a DNS move, etc. Ditto on the IP registrar whois services. | |
| | | amungus
Premium
join:2004-11-26
America
clubs:
| private registration I thought private registration was there for a reason... I thought that's why people paid the extra $$$ for such a thing.
Scammers seldom give their real info when setting up their fake sites anyway... I don't understand the point of this... Besides, if they scrap it, how are we supposed to do lookups on sites for legitimate purposes??? | |
| | | | | fiberguy
My views are my own.
Premium
join:2005-05-20
| Re: private registration said by GOLFnSUN :Of course, the address and phone number can be kept private(except to law enforcement) so that people can't be hunted down. I disagree with that part - partially.
To be honest, I could care less about law enforcement.. let them use the power of subpoena. There are many valid reasons why there needs to be contact information available. ISP's use that data all the time. There is always going to be abuse and misuse. Maybe there needs to be a better way of controlling access to it for legitimate reasons only, AND log who accessed the date in case there is abuse.
Additionally, I agree with you on tightening up the domain registration process - 1000%.
One thing I REALLY would like to see - and this just pisses me off - is the .US domain should NEVER be allowed for foreign use. I think country specific domains should be simply that.. for use in those countries.
There is A LOT wrong with how domain registration is done today - not just the whois..
I for one am glad this is coming into light now.
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"Complaining is the least path of resistance for the self-serving, the lazy, and I’m told it’s a woman’s prerogative..." | |
| | | BrotherJPW
join:2003-11-27
Glen Ellyn, IL | I disagree, everyone should have access to it because if you are taking someone to court for copy right infringement; you can take them to civil court instead and avoid criminal court; it all matters. | |
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brooklynman4
join:2004-09-07
Brooklyn, NY | jeporady maybe?? Ill take whois for three hundred please lol | |
| 
Rob
In Deo speramus, God Bless the USA
Premium
join:2001-08-25
Kendall, FL
·Comcast
| Just don't reveal everything.. I think ICANN's WHOIS database should only display the name, city and state of the person who owns the domain, plus the other information such as registration date, expiration date, last change date, and nameservers. Address, Telephone #, E-mail address & Zip code should not be revealed. | |
| SilverSurfer
join:2007-08-19
| Lies and Distortions This is less a complaint from "privacy advocates," as in real privacy advocates for real people vs those who are registered and aren't interested in being contacted for legitimate purposes, e.g. process of service.
These self same "privacy advocates" are likely the same boobs who create a website and then proceed to pilfer money from unsuspecting consumers and they are upset because anyone who knows of its existence can just as easily check WHOIS and determine precisely where and with whom to contact when various nefarious activities are afoot with the registered site owner(s).
I've had countless occasions to use WHOIS in tracking down wayward website owners whose only contact information is found on WHOIS. In fact, if not for WHOIS, these website owners would all be largely phantoms with no way to contact them.
On a personal note, I am personally registered by name on WHOIS for several sites and I have yet to have my privacy violated and I enjoy my privacy very much. | |
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tschmidt
Premium,MVM
join:2000-11-12
Milford, NH
 ·Hollis Hosting
·Verizon Online DSL
·Fairpoint Communic..
| Re: Lies and Distortions said by SilverSurfer : I am personally registered by name on WHOIS for several sites and I have yet to have my privacy violated and I enjoy my privacy very much. I'm in the same boat, have not had any trouble with Whois abuse of my registration info.
Domain Registration needs verifiable registration info. I think problems of phony registration credentials is a much bigger issue then abuse of Whois data.
/tom | |
| | | | | romulusnr
join:2007-08-01
Federal Way, WA | Some info should be public I can find out who owns a building or a plot of land, I can find out who owns a car, I can find out who owns the patent on white-out, I ought to be able to find out who owns a domain. | |
| | frost203
join:2005-09-17
| Re: Some info should be public I love the whois system I have used it many time to lookup underhanded website owner, spammers ect.... Personally I think the database needs more verifiable info to guard the public from bad site owners, but at the same time I own my own domain and would like that the database not me accessible to information harvesting bots. there should be harsh penalties for harvesting and maybe registration required to view whois info. that way possible harvesting can tracked. Having no system at all would be a step backwards... | |
| | fiberguy
My views are my own.
Premium
join:2005-05-20
| said by romulusnr :I can find out who owns a building or a plot of land, I can find out who owns a car, I can find out who owns the patent on white-out, I ought to be able to find out who owns a domain. To the same extent, some of that data, while available, is a little harder to get.
Car registration, for example, is NOT always an easy open access system in all areas - and it shouldn't. Property, as well, I don't think should be as open as it is. There is a lot of this so-called "public information" that can be, and is, abused by people all the time and I think it's high time it's cracked down on and HARD.
Unfortunately, in the day and age we live in, people are abusing the openness of our society to cause harm to others. Identity theft is at an all time high and people are getting more and more angry.
In past times, it was harder to abuse this information because people had to get off their butt and go down to the government offices to get the information. NOW, with computers more common and the internet to the masses, it's easier to sit back and look this information up and sorry to say but this is a recipe for disaster.
It's easy to sit back and say "I've never been bothered" or "I've yet to be defrauded" but wait until it does happen to you. I know many people that have been harmed by this activity and to be honest, it's not fun when it happens.
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"Complaining is the least path of resistance for the self-serving, the lazy, and I’m told it’s a woman’s prerogative..." | |
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gatorkram
Spelling and Grammer impared
Premium
join:2002-07-22
Winterville, NC
clubs:
·Embarq
·linode
| Bleh.... I have always used fake info, until the last maybe 5 years or so, when they really started to crack down...
I hated having to pay someone else, to keep my info private, which most of the time cost as much, or more than the domain itself.
To me, it was a privacy, and security issue. If I run a website someone else doesn't like, they shouldn't be able to do a whois, and get all my information, and thus making it easy for them to bother me..
I pay with a credit card, like most people, so it's not like the registar doesn't know who I am. Why should anyone else need to know?
Having to pay someone to keep my details private, just goes to show, so many people want to keep their info private, that a whole new service industry popped up to support it, which I of course disagree with in the first place.
Keep it private.
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Give me bandwidth or give me death!
»/testhistory/661871/4f240 | |
| | lordofwhee
join:2007-10-21
Everett, WA
| There needs to be a WHOIS If anyone can just register a domain, and nobody knows who they are, they could use said domain to steal identities, launch DoS attacks, etc, with no fear of consequence. Things like address and phone number NEED to be verifiable, but also kept private from the public. Only police should have access to that information, and even then, only with a subpoena, just like every other database that keeps records of personal info (well, the legit ones, anyway). | |
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major marco
Res Firma Mitescere Nescit
Premium
join:2003-02-13
Stepford, CA
clubs:
1 edit | Re: There needs to be a WHOIS said by lordofwhee : Only police should have access to that information, and even then, only with a subpoena, just like every other database that keeps records of personal info (well, the legit ones, anyway). Yeah. That'll work. The next time you get yipped by a website you believed was legit and it turns out they took your money and ran, or infringed your copyright, libeled your name by allowing others to post false information about you, etc., you can just call up your local donut eaters and I'm very sure they'll just drop everything for you when you ask them to hand over the previously available WHOIS info to you so that you can contact the registrant. Suuuure, buddy. 
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The Toll
Let's Go Flyers!
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| | | fiberguy
My views are my own.
Premium
join:2005-05-20
1 edit | Re: There needs to be a WHOIS Edit/Removed: Won't waste my time. | |
| 
Tyler Durdin
@rcn.com
| Totally Pointless!! WHOIS is a serious privacy concern.
Network Solutions forces you to keep the information up-to-date and says if you wish to keep it private, you have to pay more money. ARE YOU FUCKING SERIOUS? Why should I pay money to hide something I never wanted published in the first place? ...they create the problem and then conveniently advertise a very expensive solution.
I have an easier method: Falsify all the information. I will never pay money for some greedy corporation to remove something they have no right to publicize in the first place. | |
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See 6 replies to this post | |
flashcore
join:2007-01-23
Lutherville Timonium, MD
|  .US domains exempted from proxy registration
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burgerwars
join:2004-09-11
Northridge, CA
 ·voip.ms
·RoadRunner Cable
| I say keep the WHOIS I'm in it for several domains, and have no problems.
I find it useful when I go to questionable websites. If the info in the WHOIS looks like they're hiding something or is phoney, that tells me something about them. If it looks legit, I'm more comfortable with ordering stuff from the site. | |
| | fiberguy
My views are my own.
Premium
join:2005-05-20
| Re: I say keep the WHOIS You bring a valid point about seeing if people are legit - but then again, if you have to look, why buy?
Seriously though, two issues I have with your points are this:
1) You have no problems. Are you lucky? Pretty much. If you have had problems, I'm sure you'd be on the other side of the fence. I strongly urge you to look at what others say and don't take the "it hasn't happened to me" approach simply because you failed to say "yet"... Same with health insurance, life insurance.. etc. Some people don't assume they will die at 35, have no insurance, and say "I'll never die at this age. 
2) How are you going to know if they are hiding something? A good con artist won't give you any indication tat they are hiding anything.
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"Complaining is the least path of resistance for the self-serving, the lazy, and I’m told it’s a woman’s prerogative..." | |
| kd6cae
P2p Shouldn't Be A Crime
join:2001-08-27
Lancaster, CA
·RoadRunner Cable
·DSL EXTREME
| What if you want to be contacted? My domain has whois info and I'm not complaining. If there's an issue with my domain, say for example someone's using it to distribute stuff that shouldn't be distributed, then shouldn't I be able to be contacted in order to be made aware of the situation? Or maybe an old friend is trying to contact you after years of searching for you. Wouldn't it be nice if they could have a way of contacting you if they know you have a domain? If you want to give contact info, you should be able too, and it's critical to be able to know when a domain is going to expire. | |
| 
laserjobs
Premium
join:2004-05-02
Las Vegas, NV | ICANN has CHEESZBURGER?  | |
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morbo
Complete Your Transaction
join:2002-01-22
00000
clubs: | Re: ICANN has CHEESZBURGER? ? | |
| agill81
join:2007-02-26
Aliso Viejo, CA
| It is time to wake up people!!...... Really people get a grip here!!!...
There is no need to scrap the WHOIS database, there is already privacy standards set in place....I am sure the only people who are complaining and saying they are being harassed are the shady companies that are ripping people off and have no actual phone number listed on there web site so people turn to the WHOIS database to find that. Even fax spammers you can't find any information on the fax but sometimes you can turn to the links that are sometimes on the faxes...You can most of the time find info about the fax spammer’s web site on the WHOIS database. So for the people who have "personal web sites" and don't want there privacy to be revealed I suggest activating the privacy feature with your registrar! Everyone else should be required to show there information. In my opinion when a company or organization doesn't show an address or phone number I would be a little skeptical about them. | |
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DotMac
Shill H8r
Premium
join:2007-10-26
Huntington Beach, CA | Re: It is time to wake up people!!...... My eyes hurt. Thanks. | |
| | | agill81
join:2007-02-26
Aliso Viejo, CA | Re: It is time to wake up people!!...... Anyway | |
| gefflong
join:2003-02-18
Aledo, IL
1 edit | oh please said by fiberguy :Tell that to woman who have been tracked, raped, and murdered in the past from the very abuse of the WHOIS. Thanks. According to that logic, we better ban all phone books then. | |
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DotMac
Shill H8r
Premium
join:2007-10-26
Huntington Beach, CA
1 edit | Re: oh please I would welcome it as Verizon wouldn't be able to charge me $1.50 to keep my name and address out of it.
Just as there is no reason for registrant information to be public record, neither should a phonebook be a "pay to opt out" record. | |
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Taurus333
join:2001-04-06
Ohio | Re: oh please I have no problem with pay to opt-out for privacy concerns, cause if your privacy isn't worth anything to you then why should it be worth anything to anyone else? | |
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DotMac
Shill H8r
Premium
join:2007-10-26
Huntington Beach, CA | Re: oh please Why should they get to sell my information for free?
They should have to pay ME $1.50 a month of they want to make money off my personal information. | |
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Taurus333
join:2001-04-06
Ohio
| Re: oh please Simply listing your number in a freely available public phone directory or allowing people to freely access your information through a WHOIS database, doesn't qualify as selling your information. By not choosing to opt-out through paying for an unlisted number or a private domain, you are giving them permission to publish your information. The selling of information is a completely different issue. | |
| 
Vamp
5c077
Premium
join:2003-01-28
MD | Just register them private... I just register them privately, then atleast it hides in Whois.
I think they should get rid of requirement though.
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WLM/MSN Messenger: scott001(gmail) ADD ME! | |
| 
GlobalMind
Domino Dude, POWER Systems Guy
Premium
join:2001-10-29
Hollywood, FL
| Agree in part I guess I am both sides of this one.
While I don't have a desire to have MY whois data out there and do take steps to keep that private today, I also find it useful for vetting domain owners in various bits of research.
I also believe I shouldn't have to pay to keep that info private, regardless of the registrar used.
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TheGlobalMind.com | Speed costs money. How fast do you want to go? | Angus the IT Chap | |
| brawney
Premium
join:2002-03-02
Frederick, MD | I've received snail mail The name I have in the whois is "Domain Administrator" and I have received CREDIT CARD OFFERS in the snail mail addressed to "Domain Administrator". | |
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Will ICANN Scrap WHOIS Database?
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Re: private registration
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