[db-wg] Restricting WHOIS searches to type: netname

On Fri, May 28, 2021 at 3:19 PM Ronald F. Guilmette via db-wg
<db-wg at ripe.net> wrote:

[...]

> And as long as we are on the subject, may I safely infer from the
> presence, in the data base, of a dozen different networks named "ABC"
> that no attempt has ever been made to insure uniqueness of netnames
> within the data base?  Are netnames even restricted, as they seem to be,
> to having a form which is rather strikingly reminicent of actual unique
> data base handles, i.e. consisting of only alphanumerics and hyphens?

Not only is uniqueness not required, the manual advises against it:

"“netname:” – This is a name given to a range of IP address space. A
netname is made up of letters, digits, the underscore character and
the hyphen character. The first character of a name must be a letter,
and the last character of a name must be a letter or a digit. It is
recommended that the same netname be used for any set of assignment
ranges used for a common purpose, such as a customer or service."

https://www.ripe.net/manage-ips-and-asns/db/support/documentation/ripe-database-documentation/@@fullbodyrecursive-view#53a0473b9e154943b976d1fca8041287