[Rt4-whois] Updated Recommendation 14 - Centralized Database

[Lutz Donnerhacke]

On Wed, Nov 30, 2011 at 04:05:53PM -0700, Smith, Bill wrote:
> This wouldn't solve the proxy problem. It provides a single
> point of *access* to WHOIS data. What is returned, is whatever
> resides in "the registry of record". If a privacy or proxy services
> has been used, they will have inserted some of their own data into
> that registry. The "grand unified WHOIS service" simply returns that.

There is no technical solution for social problems.

By our (RT4) understanding of proxy services, the proxy is a full
replacement for the registrant, so - in terms of the ICANN policies - the
proxy *is* the registrant. Therefore the result from the WHOIS is correct.

By our (RT4) understanding of privacy services, the operator does provider a
level of indirection between the WHOIS output and the final registrant. If
there will be an approbriate policy for privacy services sometimes in the
future, the result from the WHOIS is correct.

There are recommendations which deals with those problems. The WHOIS results
itself are unaffected by those recommendations.