[Rt4-whois] Centralized Whois Query system run by ICANN - Scope and concerns [SEC=UNCLASSIFIED]

[Lutz Donnerhacke]

On Thu, Dec 01, 2011 at 08:11:54AM +1100, Nettlefold, Peter wrote:
> I've missed a lot of discussion on this overnight my time, so I
> apologise if I've missed something that answers my question.

So do I. I'm still confused about the current state.
Mea culpa.

> I had understood that we would recommend that ICANN create a smart
> web portal for consumers that would effectively do a WHOIS search
> for them. As I understood it, ICANN would not need to make its own
> database, thereby avoiding some of the data protection issues, and
> instead purely focus on the user experience.

Exactly that's the proposal. I tried to clarify it last week during the telco.

> If so, does this address the concerns about scope - ie why wouldn't ICANN 
> provide a comprehensive search tool for all gTLDs?

All of them: Domains, IP addresses, AS numbers.
ICANN is the political root. IANA maintains the primary allocations.
So a "central WHOIS search tool" should include all of them.