[db-wg] last-modified:, a succesor to changed:

In iks.lists.ripe.db, you wrote:
> If others agree that a "created:" attribute (with similar syntax as
> "last-modified:") is a useful feature, it should be added. I myself don't
> immediately see how I would use "created:" in an operational context.

"created:" has a drawback and a real use case for me.

The drawback is, that some strange people harvest the email addresses from
this field in order to send spam. Because my email address is unchanged
since decades, I do not really have a problem with.

The benefit I do gain from this field is documentation. Who was involved at
what time which this customer? In most cases the customers do not have any
clue about their assignments, and even in most companies not every change is
documented that clearly, so that any question "Why the hell is this so?" can
be answered immediatly.

So the real benefit is exactly the reason why this field exists:
Documentation.

Ah and just another gimmick: Due to the checks of the RIPE mailrobot, always
the most recent copy of the object data is modified, even if the local
database was bypassed by any event (i.e. modification by RIPE NCC).

So please keep the changed: field and report an "last-modified" comment at
the beginning of the Whois report as you currently do with abuse-mailbox.