[gnso-rds-pdp-wg] Use cases: Actual / Real

[Rob Golding]

Hi

Having just returned from a conference, I've had opportunity to review 
some of the Support Tickets handled in my absence, as we do every 
month-end anyway, but paid special attention to those relating to 
domains.

I've excluded many (as the logs don't show a whois was done), which 
largely consist of:
* how do I renew
* how do I cancel
* will you take payment automatically
type questions and limited this to real "use cases" where a WHOIS has 
been part of either the affected party needing data/contact info (if 
server logs show a whois query from that user), or during the 
investigation by registrar staff (where the server logs show a whois 
from our staff ips) or where whois data was pasted into the ticket, from 
the last 7 days ...

I'll try and layout to the 'template format' tomorrow:


#1
End User: My Email Stopped Working at the Weekend
Actual Issue: Domain expired on Friday
Details accessed from WHOIS: domain name, expiry date, registrar name
Resolution: we're only the host, directed to contact their registrar
(client had not actually looked at domain/whois, we wouldnt have needed 
to look to know we're not the registrar)


#2
End User: Everything down, I can't PING www.*REDACTED*
Actual Issue: Host "vanished" as nameservers no longer 
online/responding/serving records
Details accessed from WHOIS: domain name, expiry date, registrar name, 
nameservers
Resolution: Informed to try and contact their host another method, if 
that fails, will need to find a new one and update their domain. 
Provided details of wayback machine and our hosting plans
(whois data not actually needed as we have all the data in our system 
anyway)


#3
End User: Manual Domain Renewal
Actual Issue: Registrant failed to renew domain/disabled renewal
Details accessed from WHOIS: domain name, expiry date, registrar name
Resolution: provided link to client portal to login and instructions on 
renewal
(whois data not actually needed as we have all the data in our system 
anyway)


#4
End User: domain transfer still pending after 2 weeks - help!
Actual Issue: Domain is still locked at losing registrar
Details accessed from WHOIS: domain name, epp status, registrar name
Resolution: suggested to login to current registrar (where is claims to 
be unlocked) and re-lock and unlock again, and advise use when done to 
restart the transfer process
(client had already been emailled the lock/status data at the start of 
the transfer process)


#5
End User: My website is down again
Actual Issue: Domain has 2 valid (responding with A record) nameservers 
and 2 invalid namesrevers
Details accessed from WHOIS: domain name, nameservers
Resolution: client added the nameservers for their hosting instead of 
replacing the nameservers already on the domain, support removed the 
additional 2 namesrevers for them and instructions on clearing cache 
provided
(had client looked at whois they may have spotted this themselves - 
whois data not actually needed as we have all the data in our system 
anyway)


#6
End User: Domain showing as Expired but paid for
Actual Issue: Registrant had failed to pay us for renewal, but paid a 
scammer instead
Details accessed from WHOIS: domain name, expiry date, status code, 
registrar
Resolution: client educated about domain scams, payment taken by phone 
by us (registrar) for renewal and renewal processed, told to contact 
card issuer regarding the "directory service" $75 payment they made to 
the scammer
(whois data not actually needed as we have all the data in our system 
anyway)


#7
End User: URGENT Unable to access website/email - *REDACTED* expired ?
Actual Issue: Domain has expired as renewal not paid, redirects to 
renewal required page
Details accessed from WHOIS: domain name, expiry date, registrar name
Resolution: Registrant had ignored upcoming domain expiry notices, and 
renewal invoice ( email address exists and is valid but they're not 
regularly monitoring it).  They couldn't/didn't get the post-expiry 
notices ( which woudl have equally been ignored anyway ) as the contact 
email was @thedomain. Registrant couldn't now login and pay as no 
recollection of password, and reminders unable to be sent (as contact is 
@thedomain which has expired). Details validated "offline", renewal 
processed on their behalf to get back online and both email and paper 
copies of invoice sent - and now showing as paid.
(whois data not actually needed as we have all the data in our system 
anyway)


#8
End User: Assigning www.*REDACTED*
Actual Issue: Designer wants to "hand-off" the 
billing/management/ownership of domain and hosting to end-user
Details accessed from WHOIS: domain name, registrant name
Resolution: Designer reminded on how to have their client signup 
directly to agree to our T&Cs and about our service-push process. Domain 
is currently in name of designer (as all of theirs are) so they're the 
RNH, so (as per their previous similar requests) a change-of-owner 
process will need to be followed which old and new registrant will need 
to take part in
(whois data not actually needed as we have all the data in our system 
anyway)


#9
End User: My website has been hijacked
Actual Issue: Accessing domain in a browser shows a hosting company 
sales/holding page
Details accessed from WHOIS: domain name, nameservers, registrar name, 
registrant name
Resolution: no changes have been made recently to the domain (last 
update was Feb 2015) and the hosting account (with us) is active but no 
traffic since 29/July (domain is not expired)
It would appear they'd used the DNS service(s) included in their 
previous hosting to repoint the domain to the new hosting rather than 
updating the nameservers at their registrar (not us), and that hosting 
account no longer exists at the host.
Advised to first contact the previous host as the domain is in the name 
of the host, to get nameservers and "ownership" sorted out, then to 
transfer the domain to us so they can manage it all in one place


I'm personally dissapointed in the final use-case, as it used the 
"personal details" about the registrant, which conflicts with our 
opinion about what information should be 'public' - although not 
strictly needed in providing the support (as the advice to contact the 
old host / dns provider would have been the same without that, but it 
did highlight an issue the client was unaware of)

Rob