CircleID

I'm not supporting the anti-privacy provisions in WHOIS policy, but they're hardly a new imposition; they've been part of the system since the ancient days of the Internet, when they weren't really controversial because mostly large institutions like universities had domain names, and you had to be a computer geek and have government-sponsored ARPAnet access to even be able to access the WHOIS database anyway.  This new policy decision to stop anonymous registration services is merely upholding the traditional and longstanding requirement of public WHOIS info.

It's also overly alarmist to say that this mandates that you disclose your home address for stalkers, as it's perfectly possible to use a post office box, maildrop, or work address for the purpose of domain registration.

Bob,

Your letter is right on point about privacy issues in the Whois.  This fight is worth fighting, at a minimum, to force the NTIA to conduct an open debate about this issue and all future policy-related issues. 

Personally, I feel one of the biggest problems with the internet is that there is not enough companies and governments advocating for consumer rights.

But even if people disagree with us on the importance of the Whois privacy issue, I would hope that more people speak up regarding disappointment with how the decision was made by the NTIA.

There does exist a .us Policy Council that is supposed to deal with issues like this.  See
http://www.neustar.us/policycouncil/index.html

NTIA owes the public an explanation of how this group was consulted and why the hearings, if any, were not made public.  And if they were not consulted, why not?

In its role as a ICANN-type body for the .us domain, NTIA needs to follow its own proscribed processes for public debate for policy changes and not make arbitrary decisions without the consultation of all of the involved parties.

Best Regards,

Tom Barrett
EnCirca, Inc.

That GoDaddy's President expresses so much concern about whois privacy is deeply ironic, given his organisation's "interpretation" of its agreement with ICANN - specifically section 3.3.1 of the Registrar Accreditation Agreement, which mandates what data fields should be included in registrar whois output.

Details:
http://www.jottings.com/2005/02/12/godaddy-selectively-rationing-whois-data/

Daniel,

You have pointed out the major aspect of the whois system that has been so hotly debated on sites such as the one you are posting to.

Since the whois system went commercial and grew out of the 'geek' phase it has become very obvious that the privacy implications are its key weakness. While the internet offers the amazing aspect of limitless reach there are times when that is not the most desired effect. Just as having an unlisted phone number allows people to hide themselves from mass-marketing and hooligan activity, Domains By Proxy and other privacy services let personal users keep peice of mind.

While the mention of stalkers may seem a bit alarmist, I can asure you that victims of such offences would not agree with you…

Andrew,

Your attempt to drive traffic to your blog is commendable, but shortsided. Bob's point is that a government agency has made a major policy change without incorporating anything resembling a democratic/rational process in regards to how a consumer may elect to protect their privacy. (whew that was a mouthful).

You are discouraged by GoDaddy's policy towards unsavory types who like to use scripts to data-mine for emails and so forth. The sites that you mention on your blog allow for users to run such scripts. By forcing you to use GoDaddy's site to see the full whois info you have to go through a captcha, which, as I am sure you know, prevents consumers from being preyed upon.

The irony is that your post brings to light yet another way in which GoDaddy is interested in protecting its users Privacy.

I've written my congress men regarding this issue. No answer of yet. I really don't expect an answer. This is an example of our government not caring about the little person. Seems like a dictatorship is where this country is going. Let's get this out to everyone, let them know how our privacy issues are slowly being taken away, one step at a time.