Forum Moderators: phranque
Maynard.
[edited by: robotsdobetter at 3:21 pm (utc) on Mar. 24, 2004]
Yes, several registrars offer proxy regitrations.
You can also "Self obscure" it by simply registring it in your business name and pointing at a po box.
The other option is to just make up a name. There is nothing illegal about it that anyone can see and offers your best chance at protection and privacy. There are thousands of people here that obscure their whois info on tens of thousands of domains.
Brett, you should be ashamed of yourself! If you want to register a domain and be anonymous then use the legal method....as Brett said.....the proxy option.
The domain is still registered totally legally, but the owner/admin info is not available to the public.
Personally I think it is a little pricey right now. At GoDaddy one domain name can cost you $5 per year for registration and $10 per year for the proxy.....seems a rip off!
For one domain who cares, but for several thousand it gets a tad expensive.........not for a second do I advocate filing a false name and address though ;)
[wired.com...]
I believe this was mentioned in this forum awhile back.
'come to think of it, I might take my name out of there right now and put in my business name instead.
I wonder how that comes to play in any laws? Anyone know?
---- considering what I've just mentioned, US law is simply US law and its reach is only local unless international law is adopted somewhere. 'am I right? or wrong?.....not sure now.
US law is simply US law and its reach is only local unless...
... you have some natural resources we're interested in ;)
Maybe it's time to seriously look into those .tk and .cx domains.
Given the great number of people who obscure their whois info they may have relaxed this requirement.
The elementary school down the street has a marquee/billboard out front and one day it listed a website. When I visited the website it was a political message that supported more funding for the school district.
It was inappropriate enough to have a political message on a school marquee, but when I looked up the owner of the website, it was registered under a proxy! This was really bad. Political advertisements on TV and radio and in print always carry the sponsorship information. I'm sure this is a legal requirement. Shouldn't political websites also be accountable so that viewers can tell who is behind them?
And just in general - even non-political websites: the Internet is a better place if as little as possible is behind closed doors. No secrets. If you don't want people knowing your name, don't buy a domain.
I can hear where you're coming from.
'but the day that someone is actually able to make all spammers account for their misdeeds and reveal their names, addresses & phone numbers to the public will be the day that I will wholly support what you've mentioned.
---what comes to mind though is the new law which requires any newsletters sent out for commercial or business purposes to include the organization's actual address.......'a step in the right direction? Maybe.
[spamlaws.com...]
But I'd like to share something interesting with you. I've two bank accounts, both of which require my actual home address. But my credit cards are quite happy with my PO Box.
Funny aye?
----
& To add to what Brett_Tabke has mentioned, in the US or at least locally in my state, as a sole proprietor, when worse comes to worse, you could apply for a DBA Name ("doing business as"), and it would all be legit.
'sorry for being so long winded.
As of today no federal law.....although one is proposed. But, legal and federal law are not always the same thing ;)
In addition would you want to get into a legal wrangle over a domain name and have the opponent question if you were the rightful owner because you supplied a false identity?
Proxy registrations were invented for this purpose, use them if you are concerned about your right to privacy.
Bob's Five and Dime Proxy Service.
Box #lkjlkj
Any Town USA....
There are numerous WebmasterWorld members that act as proxies.
You can run but you can not hide.
