[gnso-rds-pdp-wg] Some reg'n data I think necessary (was Re: GNSO Next-Gen RDS PDP Working Group teleconference)

[Greg Aaron]

Bad cut-and-paste; please ignore the previous version.  Here's what I wanted to post:

I was a co-author of SAC054.  I would describe that paper's purpose a little differently.  In SAC054, one of the things that the SSAC was concerned with the great variability in data output and labeling from one registry/TLD to another.  In the gTLDs, that formatting problem has been largely addressed (at least until we finish our work in RDS-PDP) by the data output specifications in the 2013 RAA, and the new gTLD registry agreements.  

In SAC054 the SSAC did not make a policy statement about exactly what data should or must be published, and AFAIK did not assert that the primary purpose of registration data was to support the lifecycle of a domain name. (Emphasis on "primary.")  Instead SSAC began with a mechanical process, and "began by considering the information that is required to manage a domain name from the onset through the expiry of a registration, taking into consideration the various administrative processes that may involve data associated with a domain name registration, and the variability among service models that may exist among TLD operators." 

SSAC054 then notes that there may be other primary reasons for collecting and displaying data.  SSAC noted that a goal was "so that the data model adopted by the ICANN community satisfies the broadest range of requirements possible for such applications of domain name registration data....  The SSAC makes no policy assertions; rather, it presents the data model as a candidate or straw man for community discussion and consideration and as a basis for further development."

So that's a statement that administration and operations do need to be considered.  Andrew recently touched on some of those.  And establishing who registered a domain and is responsible for it for legal purposes may be a vital administrative purpose.

The resulting recommendation in SAC054 was the "The SSAC invites all ICANN Supporting Organizations and Advisory Committees, and in particular Registry and Registrar Stakeholder groups to (a) consider this data model and comment on its completeness, and (b) comment on the utility of the model in furthering the definition of a directory service for domain name registration data as outlined in SAC033 and SAC051."

All best,
--Greg

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Greg Aaron
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-----Original Message-----
From: gnso-rds-pdp-wg-bounces at icann.org [mailto:gnso-rds-pdp-wg-bounces at icann.org] On Behalf Of James Galvin
Sent: Monday, March 21, 2016 9:56 AM
To: Andrew Sullivan <ajs at anvilwalrusden.com>
Cc: gnso-rds-pdp-wg at icann.org
Subject: Re: [gnso-rds-pdp-wg] Some reg'n data I think necessary (was Re: GNSO Next-Gen RDS PDP Working Group teleconference)



On 20 Mar 2016, at 13:16, Andrew Sullivan wrote:

> On Sun, Mar 20, 2016 at 09:30:41AM -0500, Carlton Samuels wrote:
>
>
>> Is there a need for the collection of registration data, and, to what 
>> end?
>
>
> It is important for operators on the Internet to be able to contact 
> operators of other domains, in order to deal with abuse, network 
> misconfiguration, and so forth.

Andrew,

If the starting point is that the purpose of registration data is to support the operation of a domain name on the Internet, then I’m supportive of your list and the explanations.

However, I do not believe this is the cornerstone purpose of registration data.  As you suggested in your message, others could come up with similar lists based on their purported purpose of registration data.  The EWG report did a good job of cataloguing various purposes of registration data, i.e., purposes of registration data that exist today.

I believe the question facing this group is which purpose is the primary or cornerstone purpose of registration data?  A corollary question then becomes, which additional purposes of registration data are to be collectively and officially declared to be the full purpose of registration data?

In SAC054, the SSAC proposed a data model for registration data that asserted the primary purpose of registration data was to support the lifecycle of a domain name.  This data model included the operational elements you describe in your message.  In retrospect (speaking as an SSAC member who supported the data model at the time), I do not think these operational elements are part of the cornerstone essential elements required to support the lifecycle of a domain name.  The only elements you need are contact information since not all domain names are “operational”.

The next discussion then becomes which contact elements you need, since as has been pointed out by others already, not all contact information is created equal.  Further, do I need to collect more than one type of contact information (postal, phone number, email, etc.)?  I would assert that in this model you don’t need billing information since a registrar could just reach out at the end of each term to collect the next fee.

And as long as we’re into this conversation, an alternate view is I don’t need contact information at all because all I really need is billing information, so I can just collect the fee at each renewal time. 
  This model could work if there was also a terms of use policy that said if there is ever a “problem” with your domain name and you can not be contacted then you lose your domain name.

In summary, my question to the group: Is the purpose of registration data to support the operation of a domain name on the Internet?  Or perhaps the primary purpose is to support the lifecycle of the registration of a domain name?  The corollary question could then be what other purposes do we want to include as the “full purpose” of registration data?

Jim
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