Ripe change to whois

At 04:00 PM 11/30/98 +0100, Joao Luis Silva Damas wrote:

Just check http://www.checkdomain.com with some nonexistant domain housed at
RIPE and tell me if something isn't wrong here.  -Hank

>Hello.
>
>I am including the tld-wg into this discussion so as to make sure all involved 
>parties are aware of the discussion.
>
> Alexander Koch <akoch at sgh-net.de> writes:
> * Hello.
> * 
> * > The design of this feature was specified some time ago by Carol Orange and
> *  
> * > Wilfried Woeber (please see http://www.ripe.net/meetings/ripe/ripe-27/pres
> * /rout
> * > e/referral/) and discussed in the RIPE db-wg mailing list (please see 
> * > http://www.ripe.net/mail-archives/db-wg/19970501-19970601/threads.html)
> * 
> * Oh. Fine. Do I get it right that this was discussed and agreed on
> * more than a year ago? Argh.
> * 
>
>Yes, indeed. We had a period where we have been late with developments. That 
>period is now behind us.
>
> * This change breaks too many things, imnsho, and it seems again that if
> * you are not able to make it to the RIPE meetings, you have lost. A
> * special announce would have been most helpful (an explicit one, stating
> * this).
> * 
>
>But, we did... or so I thought. We'll look into more ways of getting this 
>announcements across while trying to minimize the mails sent to people who 
>don't care about this.
>
>This particular feature has been actively asked for by the ccTLD 
>adninistrators and seen as a good thing by everyone I have had a chance to 
>speak with. These are actually the first complaints about it we have got so 
>far.
>
> * > As a side note I would like to stress that the RIPE Database is NOT the so
> * urce 
> * > of authoritative data for domain objects (although we are happy to provide
> *  a 
> * > repository for TLD administrators).
> * > This is UNLIKE the internic whose business is to sell names.
> * 
> * Oh. Fine. whois.nic.de *cough* barely ever working... Weak argument.
> * And If I wanted to know the data about the domain one level higher,
> * I can do so myself, I don't need to get it told to me by whois, I
> * want to know whether crab.de (bad example, it really exists) is in
> * the DB already or not.
>
>I am sorry but I can't talk about the availability of services we don't 
>operate.
>
>I am sure you can look up domains yourself but this was actually seen as 
>providing the users (specially the ones less familiar with the RIPE DB) with 
>help on where to find the correct information.
>
>It seems to me that over time people have developed a sense that the RIPE DB 
>is the authoritative source of information regarding domain names in Europe.
>May be this issue should be up for debate now. 
>
>As a matter of fact the referral mechanism was seen as a way for ccTLD 
>administrators to include information in the Database pointing to their own 
>authoritative sources of information.
>
> * 
> * > The RIPE NCC is therefore acting according to users directives that were 
> * > discussed and agreed on an open way.
> * 
> * Hitchhiker's Guide, anyone? *sigh*
>
>???
>
> * 
> * This was a not-so-nice change, really. Consider this a statement of
> * disagreement with the way the change took place. Ok, one more mailling
> * list to follow... Time to sell.
>
>Will do so. As I said before, we will keep modifying and developing the RIPE 
>DB software and in particular this feature if users feel that is what they 
>want. We will also provide our point view.
>I would like to have the input of the community.
>
>Regards,
>Joao
>
> * 
> * Regards,
> * Alexander Koch
> * 
> * -- 
> * SGH Internet Division, Alexander Koch, Systems Administration
> * Hannover, Germany, Phone +49 511 909198 0, Fax +49 511 391307
> * 
>
>
>