Website Owners Wanted for Poll

theengel · Jan 7, 2008

I wanted to know if the average website owner understood :

1 - The contact information they used to register the name was public record

2 - The contact information from some places is regularly crawled by spam bots

I also wanted to know (from some of the more experienced web owners) what your thoughts are on owners of .us domain names not being allowed to keep their information private?

This will hopefully go into an article on whois privacy.

Thanks in advance for your replies.

veinglory · Jan 7, 2008

1 - The contact information they used to register the name was public record

Yes, this was in the form when I bought the domain along with instructions on how to anonymise.

2 - The contact information from some places is regularly crawled by spam bots

It's an unsecured webpage so I assumed as much.

Tsu Dho Nimh · Jan 7, 2008

1 - The contact information they used to register the name was public record

Yes. Although it is possible to prevent it from being too-public by selecting the right registrar. Mine are at a registrar that requires subpoenas before it hands over information.

2 - The contact information from some places is regularly crawled by spam bots

Yes ... been through that.

I also wanted to know (from some of the more experienced web owners) what your thoughts are on owners of .us domain names not being allowed to keep their information private?

They can choose to use another registrar if they don't like the policy. All of my domaons are .com or .org

Kathie Freeman · Jan 10, 2008

You can solve the spam problem to a large degree by having a contact page with text like this: Contact me by writing to [email protected] without the S.
spam bots can't figure it out; it takes a human reader.

Tsu Dho Nimh · Jan 10, 2008

Kathie Freeman said:
You can solve the spam problem to a large degree by having a contact page with text like this: Contact me by writing to [email protected] without the S.
spam bots can't figure it out; it takes a human reader.

Yes, but poor kathiesfreeman will get all your spam

And the whois service doesn't obfuscate your address. What they have done is prevent the scavenger-bots from running through awhole block of IP addresses asking for information.

For your article:
I registered my first domain in the mid 1990s ... and the damned hackers kept connecting to my FAX line with their dial-up modems, trying to hack into my site. It was annoying, and the FAX machine kept getting reset.

theengel · Jan 10, 2008

mollyluna said:
Do you remember what info they gave to make it anonymous? I had no such option. The best you can do is give a PO box and a yahoo account. I'd be curious to know.

Whois Privacy - Some registrars offer it, some don't.

Andrew Jameson · Jan 10, 2008

1 - The contact information they used to register the name was public record
Yeah; pretty clear. My hosting site (through whom I registered the domain) offers an "anonymous domain" sevice for extra $$:

MAKE YOUR INFORMATION PRIVATE! When you register a domain, your name, address, email address, and phone number immediately become available / visible to everyone over the internet. You can change this with a private registration. Buying a domain does not have to mean sacrificing your privacy. Your new domain will be registered in your name but Lunarpages' information is made public, not yours. You retain full benefits of domain registration. You can cancel, sell, renew, or transfer your domain; set-up name servers for your domain; and resolve disputes involving your domain. For an additional $7.95 per year, you can protect your personal information.

Since my email and address is "out there" already, anyway, I didn't particularly feel like paying the extra eight bucks.

2 - The contact information from some places is regularly crawled by spam bots
I would've assumed as much.

I also wanted to know (from some of the more experienced web owners) what your thoughts are on owners of .us domain names not being allowed to keep their information private?
Um. I dunno. Who uses .us names, anyway, and why aren't they using .com addresses?

This will hopefully go into an article on whois privacy.
As a comment, the thing that really chaps me is the junk mail I get (through the USPS, not email) for domain reregistration and search-engine optimization and the like. Configured to look exactly like bills, and/or Very Important letters and/or implying a link with my hosting service. I'm not fooled, but a neophyte could easily be confused, I think.

veinglory · Jan 10, 2008

You register with a proxy server, so their details are listed. It costs extra though.

Linda Adams · Jan 10, 2008

I wanted to know if the average website owner understood :

1 - The contact information they used to register the name was public record

2 - The contact information from some places is regularly crawled by spam bots

No, it wasn't. I actually only found out that it was public knowledge accidentally when I checked my stats and saw a visit from Whois.com. But that may actually be because of when I got the domain names; one domain name was picked up in 1997 and the other in 2000. Oddly, the one from 1997, which I got through Geocities and transferred to my hosting site, has to be renewed directly through Network Solutions and allows for anonymous registration. The other domain name, purchased from Network Solutions through my host does not.

.

Tsu Dho Nimh · Jan 11, 2008

Andrew Jameson said:
This will hopefully go into an article on whois privacy.
As a comment, the thing that really chaps me is the junk mail I get (through the USPS, not email) for domain reregistration and search-engine optimization and the like. Configured to look exactly like bills, and/or Very Important letters and/or implying a link with my hosting service. I'm not fooled, but a neophyte could easily be confused, I think.

Oh yes, those things! They have become less common, I hear, because a few of the worst offenders got whapped by the FTC and other agencies.

RumpleTumbler · Jan 11, 2008

theengel said:
I wanted to know if the average website owner understood :

1 - The contact information they used to register the name was public record

2 - The contact information from some places is regularly crawled by spam bots

I also wanted to know (from some of the more experienced web owners) what your thoughts are on owners of .us domain names not being allowed to keep their information private?

This will hopefully go into an article on whois privacy.

Thanks in advance for your replies.

1. It's stupid to register it publicly.

2. Nothing new under the sun. You want to see some mega crawling going on register with google ad sense and watch the spiders descend like vultures.

I've not one time been to a domain with a .us extension and so this matters not.

GeorgeK · Jan 11, 2008

theengel said:
I wanted to know if the average website owner understood :

1 - The contact information they used to register the name was public record

2 - The contact information from some places is regularly crawled by spam bots

I also wanted to know (from some of the more experienced web owners) what your thoughts are on owners of .us domain names not being allowed to keep their information private?

This will hopefully go into an article on whois privacy.

Thanks in advance for your replies.

1: Yes, but if it's a business website then you want people to be able to find you.

2: I just assumed as much.

3: I have a .us website but as I understand it (my wife did all the techno stuff) the "physical address" is a post office box. We only give out the actual street address to what we think are serious inquiries and do a little backgound check on potential customers before replying with specific information

Website Owners Wanted for Poll

theengel

Complete Joke

veinglory

volitare nequeo

Tsu Dho Nimh

Kathie Freeman

That Crazy Cat Lady

Tsu Dho Nimh

theengel

Complete Joke

Andrew Jameson

(not his real name)

veinglory

volitare nequeo

Linda Adams

Soldier, Storyteller

Tsu Dho Nimh

RumpleTumbler

Loves Joni Mitchell

GeorgeK

ever seeking