Policy Proposal 2001-7

[Lee Howard]

--From the archives of last week:

ARIN currently provides a bulk copy of WHOIS output only to organizations 
that will use the data for technical research purposes and sign an 
acceptable use policy. Point of contact information is excluded from 
these bulk copies. 

APNIC and RIPE NCC provide bulk copies of their WHOIS output on their 
FTP sites for any organization that wishes to obtain the data providing 
they agree to the acceptable use policy that accompanies the data. 

  Proposal: It is proposed ARIN provide a bulk copy of WHOIS output, 
             minus point of contact information, on the ARIN FTP site 
             for download by any organization that wishes to obtain the 
             data providing they agree to ARIN's acceptable use policy 
             that would accompany the data. 
---

The only difference I see between the current practice and the proposed
policy is that access will not be limited to those conducting research.
Can anyone provide an example of a legitimate non-research use for bulk
WHOIS, or other rationale for this proposed policy?

I would think the membership would be more interested in tightening 
access to WHOIS, rather than loosening it.  For instance, what enforcement
is available to ARIN if someone violates the AUP?  What mechanisms exist
to prevent massive database queries?  

I dimly remember discussion at the last public policy meeting that a
measure like this might be introduced to reduce load on the WHOIS servers.
Is there consensus that this is the best method for doing so?

Lee