From: Mario Loffredo <[email protected]> 
Sent: Thursday, September 17, 2026 11:48 AM
To: Scott Hollenbeck <[email protected]>; 'Mario Loffredo' 
<[email protected]>; 'Pawel Kowalik' 
<[email protected]>; [email protected]
Subject: Re: [regext] Re: I-D Action: draft-ietf-regext-rdap-jscontact-26.txt

 

 

Il 17/09/2026 16:31, Scott Hollenbeck ha scritto:

From: Mario Loffredo  <mailto:[email protected]> 
<[email protected]> 
Sent: Thursday, September 17, 2026 9:38 AM
To: Scott Hollenbeck  <mailto:[email protected]> 
<[email protected]>; 'Pawel Kowalik'  
<mailto:[email protected]> <[email protected]>; 
'Mario Loffredo'  <mailto:[email protected]> 
<[email protected]>; [email protected] 
<mailto:[email protected]> 
Subject: [regext] Re: I-D Action: draft-ietf-regext-rdap-jscontact-26.txt

 

Hi Scott,

please find my comment below.

Il 17/09/2026 14:09, Scott Hollenbeck ha scritto:

-----Original Message-----
From: Pawel Kowalik  <mailto:[email protected]> 
<[email protected]>
Sent: Thursday, September 17, 2026 3:06 AM
To: Mario Loffredo  <mailto:[email protected]> 
<[email protected]>; Pawel
Kowalik  <mailto:[email protected]> 
<[email protected]>; [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]> 
Subject: [regext] Re: I-D Action: draft-ietf-regext-rdap-jscontact-26.txt
 
Hi Mario,
 
On 16.09.26 18:03, Mario Loffredo wrote:

 
[SAH] [snip]
 

PK> "JSContat format is returned only upon request" - is it a reasonable
assumption? RDAP is build around "ignore unknown properties" therefore
it shall remain an option for the server to add the extension data even
if not requested, even if it is in the transition - which I would assume
would be the typical approach to double the content if there is no
signal in place.

 
[SAH] After thinking about this some more, I have a more fundamental issue with 
the draft that Pawel touches on above. We have to remember that jCard and 
"rdap_level_0" as defined in RFC 9083 are tightly coupled. A server can't 
signal support for "rdap_level_0" without supporting jCard. That's immutable 
without updating or replacing 9083. I prefer an option where a server that 
supports JSContact signals support for the "jscontact" extension in the usual 
way and returns both representations. As Pawel describes above, the extension 
data can be included even if not explicitly requested because we're assured 
that clients will ignore things that they don't understand. Clients that want 
the JSContact representation will receive it, and clients that don't want it 
can ignore it.
 
Deprecation of jCard use in RDAP, or changing what "rdap_level_0" means,  
requires either update or replacement of 9083. We can't get around that.

[ML] Section 5.1 of RFC9083 states the following:

 

The entity object class can contain the following members:

1.      objectClassName -- the string "entity" 
2.      handle -- a string representing a registry-unique identifier of the 
entity 
3.      vcardArray -- a jCard with the entity's contact information

     ....

My interpretation is that an RDAP response including an entity object remains 
compliant with "rdap_level_0" even when the vcardArray member is missing.

The text defines which members are allowed in an entity object, not which ones 
are mandatory.

The other normative language mentioning jCard refers to the case where contact 
information is included and provided via jCard.

The handle property may also be missing.

In fact, RFC9537 includes an example in which the handle property - despite 
belonging to a domain object - is redacted by the removal method.

There is nothing in the definition of handle and vcardArray that makes handle 
optional and vcardArray mandatory.

Maybe I'm wrong but could you please indicate where it is clearly stated that 
an entity object MUST include the vcardArray member?

 
[SAH] That’s a good point. It isn’t clearly stated. The current “can contain” 
text could be interpreted to mean that *all* of the members of an entity object 
are OPTIONAL. Section 4.9 clarifies that the "objectClassName" member is 
REQUIRED (5.1 should really note the requirement, too. That may merit an errata 
report.), but there’s not a similar requirement for a vcardArray or any other 
member. I can’t remember why we chose to use “can contain”, except that it 
supports the development of operational profiles (such as ICANN’s gTLD response 
profile) to provide greater specificity. Ugh.
 
ICANN’s gTLD response profile requires a vcardArray in some cases. That’s a 
potential conflict. It may be worth noting somewhere that jCard omission could 
cause a conflict with any extensions or profiles that require inclusion of a 
vcardArray.
 
Scott

I believe this is a matter to be addressed within the scope of specific RDAP 
profiles. Similarly, the specification regarding JSContact profiles allows 
profile designers to define additional constraints beyond those in RFC 9553.

[SAH] I have to disagree with that, Mario. You’re writing a draft that’s known 
to conflict with other operational extensions. It’s up to you to describe how 
to mitigate the conflicts. Once this draft becomes an RFC it’ll be up to 
designers of new profiles and new extensions to accommodate it.

Scott

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