October 30, 2007 5:07
The Sad Decline and Imminent Fall of WHOIS
A couple of outlets are reporting that the WHOIS database is on the chopping block, over privacy and administrative concerns. (That's the public database where you can go to see who registered what Web domain, where they live, their hair color, etc.) Which seems like a shame. Sure, WHOIS is where spammers go to gorge themselves on free personal information until their repulsive bellies are round and bloated. But surely there's a competent way to run those databases so they can't be crawled for profit? That's also where journalists go to track down reclusive sources, don't you know.
About Nerd World
Lev Grossman
Lev Grossman blogs about anything and everything that could be plausibly labeled geeky--science fiction, fantasy, video games, comic books, tech stuff, and so on. If it could get you beaten up in junior high, it's fair game. About the Author
Matt Selman
Matt Selman has worked on eleven seasons and over two hundred episodes of The Simpsons. He currently serves as an Executive Producer. About the Author
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Reader Comments (5)
I totally agree with you here, I've use whois all the time. It's the best way to be snoopy, for all the right reasons of course. :)
Posted by Paul B | October 30, 2007 10:30 PM
Three words: Freedom of Information!
Posted by starlight | October 31, 2007 2:12 PM
I agree with your perspective. This will make it more difficult for average copyright owners, for example, to track people who are breaking their copyrights without having to pay someone else to find out who is stealing their work. Yet again, the internet will be protecting thieves and jerks. Ridiculous.
Posted by SCrow | November 1, 2007 12:55 PM
oh come on. People are hiding their stuff from whois now anyway. just look up levgrossman.com
Posted by anonymouse | November 1, 2007 1:46 PM
If people are concerned about their privacy on the Net then they shouldn't be on the Net! The Internet is a public highway and as such if you go there and start posting personal information on highway billboards others will come to know more about you. Duh!
If you need to be on the Net but don't want personal information to be published then by all means don't give personal information! Duh!
Privacy advocates should take their business elsewhere where it's needed. People know how to hide their personal information on the Net what with all the security tools out there. What? Don't know the difference of floppies from CDs? Then you shouldn't be infront of a computer!! Duh!
Posted by Private Ryan | November 2, 2007 5:51 AM