Talking about WHOIS: "too much information"?

Is this a touchy subject that you shouldn't spread around?

[crescenta]

This is a strange, strange question, but it's happened to me a couple of times now, so I wanted some outside input.

We all know that there are people who are very un-savvy, and are not aware of WHOIS, and how all domains have this information publicly available (though of course privacy services are making a difference more and more, something which I personally appreciate).

A few times on other message boards (general interest, etc), I have mentioned, when the discussion strayed in a particular direction, "Well, I see that this domain was registered on such-and-such a date" or, "You know, there might be another way to contact the people that run that website, if you really need to . . ." I've been very vague about it—have not given anyone instructions on how to do this, or even mentioned WHOIS by name—just alluded to its existence.

I've been admonished for doing this, being told that it is (in essence) violating the privacy of the people who own the sites to hint about WHOIS. Now, I can understand that under certain circumstances, it might be wise to not highlight the fact that there is such a thing as WHOIS. (In case the people who own the domains are more vulnerable to stalkers, etc.) So sure, I'll shut up about it if it's going to make some people twitchy.

But it just seems so strange to be chided for mentioning the reality of WHOIS. Just because some people don't know about it, it doesn't mean it doesn't exist. It exists in the same way that the phone book exists. I don't see what is so terrible about telling people about it.

Has anyone else here encountered this sort of reaction to WHOIS, and is there some sort of protocol that I'm missing out on? Is it somehow inappropriate to mention WHOIS to the uninformed?

[LifeinAsia]

It sort of sounds like being criticized for telling people about the existance of a book that you can use to lookup people's phone numbers and addresses. Or that you can even get that same information just by dialing a phone number.

[Kufu]

That makes no sense at all. It is downright silly.

I have to also add though, that I am a privacy freak, and hence don't mention WHOIS to anyone who is not already aware of it.

[kevinpate]

As evidenced by the exploding money thread over in Foo, there's no hard limit on the silliness some folks can dream up. Generally, just quietly attribute such balderdash to someone's tin foil hats resting too tightly on the noggin and move on is a reasonable enough approach.

[jtara]

I don't see a problem with this on boards dealing with web development topics.

I do know of at least one financial board (i.e. discussions about investments in public companies) where they have a specific policy about posting WHOIS information or suggesting that people look-up WHOIS information.

But that's just an extension of their general privacy policy.

Sometimes a user will mention their own website for one reason or another. Somebody gets in a spat with them, and posts their WHOIS information, or suggests that others look it up. The adminstrators of the board consider this as equivalent of posting their address or telephone number, etc.

I guess an analogy would be somebody using their real name on a board, and then somebody suggesting that people look up their number or address in an online directory.

The information is publically available to anyone who thinks to look it up, but pointing it out is clearly intended to draw people to violate their privacy.

[davezan]

On the side, I once explained about reporting invalid WHOIS in a thread in another forum. That time I was just answering a query as to how or where one can complain about it.

Eventually I found a thread about someone complaining his site got shut down precisely because of that. Imagine my horror when the person gave the domain name...the same one brought up in the forum thread asking about it!

Since then, I've resolved not to tell about it. Like most if not all things something can be abused, but I don't want that sort of thing in my conscience.

[crescenta]

I can definitely see the concept of WHOIS being abused, which is why I've been careful to allude to it rather than give outright instructions, or (heaven forbid!) WHOIS addresses and information. That's over the line.

I've tried to be careful and vague. In one case I was scolded by someone because I suggested that there was a way to contact a domain owner—this person ran a popular site, but seemingly had fallen off of the face of the earth. People were concerned. I was trying to be reassuring. I probably should have kept my mouth shut (though I did not give instructions or mention WHOIS). But certainly, there was no intention to violate privacy or make "trouble" for the domain owner. Some people were worried, that's all.

In another case (which I find truly ludicrous), some of us were speculating about a domain. I looked up the WHOIS and it looked pretty secure to me (PO Box) and based on what I knew of the (suspected) domain owner, there was almost no chance that anything in the WHOIS would lead to anything other than blind alleys. My main focus was on domain registration times, and speculating on what might be done with the site in the future. For this I was also reprimanded, because maybe (maybe) someone would figure out that I got my information from WHOIS (though I never mentioned how I got the information) and then could do something with that PO Box and old moldy email address. I did not buy that, and I still don't—but of course I backed away from it, because it's not worth the angst. If it's going to put people in such a tizzy, then forget it!