Does the clothing store owner, the dry cleaner,the guy who runs the gas station
do any of these get to be anonymous? No, They have to have business license,
public filings, sales tax licenses, etc, etc.
Yes they get junk mail, telephone solicitations and salesmen all the time.
Its a part of doing business and they learn to deal with it.
For some reasons Webmasters set in their spare bedrooms and think they
shouldnt be bothered by such trival and mundane matters.
Grow up people, if we demand transparency in government,in corporations large
and small, should less be expected of us?...KF
[edited by: King_Fisher at 8:36 am (utc) on Nov. 2, 2007]
Whois is really a separate issue, and applies to the doamin name rather than the site.
No, the owner shouldn't give out his home address, number etc.. (unless it is a home based business) but the business' phone number, address, email etc.. should all be available so people can contact themy (even if it just an admin@example.com email address).
What kind of business (other than shady / illegal) does NOT want people to contact them?
If I walk up to a craft stand and want to buy a knick knack, it's my own responsibility to either trust or not trust the vendor. If they have a sheet in the front of their booth that tells me their name, phone number, and who to contact when my knick knack breaks... great! If they don't, maybe I ask them for that information, or maybe I don't buy from them. That's a decision that I, and every consumer, have every right to make.
You can make brick and mortar comparisons to internet sites all day long, but the fact is that there is no real comparison. I can walk into a brick and mortar and SEE who I'm doing business with, and the internet, of course, has no such luxury. A brick and mortar doesn't need to disclose its address or contact information... you can just walk into the store during business hours and talk to whoever is at the counter. A brick and mortar is going to WANT to publish its phone number everywhere so it gets more business.
An internet business, unless it has a brick and mortar counterpart, is only worried about internet traffic. There's no need, promotion wise, to publish a phone number or address. This allows an internet business owner a ton of flexibility which I don't personally think should be legislated away.
IMHO, online domain owners and businesses should be compelled, but NOT required, to provide adequate contact information for their business to the public.
I do agree that contact information for the domain should be required by the registrar, much like opening a bank account. I think, however, also like a bank account, the information should not be in the public domain. Should a legal issue with the site ever arise, there then would be an avenue to contact the legal owner.
Otherwise, as I said in the other thread, 'caveat emptor'.
When you are purchasing some thing on the Internet your out there on a wing
and a prayer. Most of the time the product comes through as advertised. Some
times it doesn't work or its a clinker. Other time its a complete sham or fraud.
If this happened to you I am sure you would want a phone number, a name of a
person to help you and physical address where the company is located and of course an email address.
I as a consumer would demand such information. Why would any ethical website
merchant want to withhold such information? Is it because they might have to
deal with an irate customer? Or they might get some spam email? If you want to
deal with the public you have to be public yourself!
Most website merchants don't seem to realize we are flying well below the radar.
We are very lightly regulated if at all. Most of us dont have to have a business
license, dont have to deal with OSHA, dont have to collect or remit sales tax
and all the other myriad of things brick and mortar merchants have to content with.
BUT,(and this is a big thing), as Internet commerce grows we will increasingly
come under the government microscope.If the public become dissatisfied with the
available recourse with online merchants the congress will be more than glad to
step in and start to regulate this industry.
To sum it all up, to avoid goverment interference and regulation we need to be
become more transparent and ethical with all our dealings with the public.
Its just good business!...KF
Businesses need to provide accurate information to identify and contact them, but the individuals in that business can reasonably expect fairly normal personal privacy IMHO. When the business is a retail one-man-band or mom-and-pop then there is a clear conflict between those two privacy/disclosure positions.
Rgds
Damon
Does the guy who puts a flyer on a streetpost need to put his name and address at the bottom of every one?
Does the guy who spouts his opinion on the radio have to give his info?
of course not.
Sites that SELL you products that you PAY MONEY for. Just saying that
if you purchase a product that proves to be faulty you have a right to the information that would let you contact the seller for some recourse.
You have no financial interaction with a guy who puts up flyer's or a radio
commentator.
You can disregard the flyer or turn off the radio, you suffer no financial consequence...KF
would you buy from a guy in a van on the street?
