> > The whois database is part and parcel, a necessary element of DNS
> > operation. It is impossible (or at least unreasonable) to conceive of
> > running a TLD zone file without keeping track of who is associated with
> > each second level domain.
>
> Actually, that's incorrect. The DNS SOA record shows who produced the
> record and according to the RFC's the postmaster@... address is mandatory.
> There is just no technical *NEED* to have more data.
Being a TLD administrator, you know as well as I do that the info in
the SOA record isn't always correct, and postmaster@ addresses don't
always work.
There is a real, *technical* need to be able to get hold of domain
contact persons. The info needed to do this sometimes includes phone/
fax number and street address - email isn't always enough.
> In fact .NA does not give out this information for its registrants and
> that has been working for almost 8 years.
It may work *for the .NA registry* because the .NA registry has the
contact information, and is able to use other means than email when
necessary.
I agree that it's probably not strictly necessary to *publish* the
contact information to the rest of the world, *if* you don't want the
rest of the world to be able to reach the domain contacts.
Steinar Haug, Nethelp consulting, [EMAIL PROTECTED]
