[ppml] New WHOIS policy approved

[Michael.Dillon at btradianz.com]

> True, but, no longer particularly relevant to the practice
> and purpose of either.  Even back in the day of SRI InterNIC,
> the use and content of IP registration whois data and Domain
> whois data was different. I would say they are sisters, but,
> I'm not so sure they're twins rather than step sisters. I think
> they had different fathers.

Go back further. Look at RFC 812
http://rfc.sunsite.dk/rfc/rfc812.html

> I guess we can agree to disagree on this.  I think that the amount
> of indirection and misdirection allowed by ICANNs new domain
> policy is a bad idea and I'd hate to see it added to ARIN
> whois policy, no matter how convenient it is for BT.

No need to sink to ad hominems...
I am speaking in general terms at this point. Whois policy
is creaky and ancient and full of holes. It makes sense to review 
it in the same way that ICANN has done. Check this page
http://www.icann.org/announcements/announcement-18sep03.htm
And follow up the links to the Montreal and Carthage 
workshops and their presentations. We don't need knee-jerk
reactions but measured thought and analysis of where we
are and where we should be.

> > Note, that Domains and IPs do share some characteristics.

> Domains are not associated with internet endpoints in any way
> other than their ability to be mapped to an IP address.  Domains
> are loosely coupled with IP addresses.  The only use of a domain
> is to provide a handle for lookup in a directory.  IP addresses,
> OTOH, are used for traffic delivery and specify a particular
> point on the internet (notwithstanding anycast and multicast
> for the moment).

Bingo! I see you agree with me that domains and IPs do share
SOME characteristics. And that IP addresses are rather more 
restrictive in scope than domain names. This is why I believe
we need to review our whois policy and fix it so that its scope
is similarly restrictive.

> I don't think that clarifying whois policy would be a bad thing
> at all.  I just don't want to see that clarification include
> the kind of wiggle room just offered to spammers in the new
> ICANN policy.

ICANN policies and ARIN policies are the wrong place to combat 
spammers. That is a job for legislature, courts and police forces.
It has taken a long time for those bodies to begin the work but 
now that they have done so, we should be supporting them and not
allowing vigilante mentality to drive our policies.

--Michael Dillon