[dow2tf] Introduction
Hi all: In the interest of giving everyone as much time to respond as possible, I'm sending out my first draft at an Introduction paragraph. I tried to mostly extract ideas from other parts of the report to avoid saying anything too controversial, but as this is the first thing that people will read, I want to make sure everyone is comfortable with the text: "The WHOIS service dates back at least to 1985 and, as defined in RFC 954, provides a "directory service to Internet users". Today the WHOIS "directory" includes contact information for tens of millions of domain names, and is used for a wide variety of purposes by network operators, business of all kinds, law enforcement, consumer protection agencies, and members of the public. Through its contracts, ICANN requires registries and registrars to gather and display both technical information and contact details for all registrants. As an increasingly diverse range of both registrants and WHOIS data users have begun making use of the domain name system in recent years, situations have arisen where a registrant's contact information may be considered sensitive, and calls have been made for better privacy protections within the WHOIS system. This Task Force was chartered to examine the manner in which data is both collected and displayed. We make a number of recommendations that allow the WHOIS service to continue to serve its valuable contactability function, while providing protection for the privacy needs of domain name registrants where appropriate." Please provide any feedback ASAP, Jordyn |