[conspire] (forw) I might need to change registrars?

[Alex Kleider]

I've also been using easydns.com for a very long time and have no complaints.
a

Alex Kleider  (set from my current gizmo)


------- Original Message -------
On Friday, February 3rd, 2023 at 9:24 AM, Rev Anon <Rev_Anon at Atheist.com> wrote:


> I've never had trouble and always good service from easydns.com. they're
> in Ontario, Canada. Why not talk to them?
> 
> On 2/2/23 14:22, Rick Moen wrote:
> 
> > ----- Forwarded message from Rick Moen rick at linuxmafia.com -----
> > 
> > Date: Thu, 2 Feb 2023 14:20:19 -0800
> > From: Rick Moen rick at linuxmafia.com
> > To: balug-admin at lists.balug.org
> > Subject: I might need to change registrars?
> > Organization: If you lived here, you'd be $HOME already.
> > 
> > I used to have my two domains, linuxmafia.com and unixmercenary.net,
> > registered through an individual in Texas, found via my wife Deirdre,
> > who was a Tucows OpenSRS reseller. Years down the line, he wound down
> > that operation: I think I was among the final customers, probably kept
> > because I wasn't "high maintenance" unlike many domain owners.
> > 
> > Where I moved was to small, clueful registrar IWantMyName.com of
> > Wellington, NZ. And all was good for a long time. There was one brief
> > bobble when GDPR kicked in: Suddenly and without explanation, let alone
> > my request, all my domain contacts toggled to "private registration". I
> > opened a IWantMyName.com support ticket, like "not what I want, please
> > revert."
> > 
> > Their clued and cheerful tech quickly figured out what happened:
> > IWantMyName.com is a reseller of domain services provided by very large,
> > German registrar 1API Gmbh (with presumably IWantMyName.com doing its
> > work via 1API's, er, API. And, like many large registrars, 1API Gmbh
> > had reacted to the rollout of GDPR by doing a "Fine, we'll just set
> > everyone for maximum privacy as a new default, so we cannot be sued for
> > privacy violation."
> > 
> > IWantMyName.com staff intervened with the larger company, and it got
> > fixed. More years passed. In August 2019, the unwelcome news arrived
> > that the Wellington, NZ shop was now a wholly owned subsidiary of
> > CentralNic Group PLC of London.[1] Drat. You go to the effort of
> > researching a small clueful business, run by people you have confidence
> > in, and they get bought out by some distant idiots. More years pass.
> > 
> > A few days ago, I check, and linuxmafia.com and unixmercenary.net are
> > again set to "private registration". Grr. I do due-diligence by
> > visiting the IWantMyName.com customer WebUI: For each domain, there is
> > a toggle to enable (but not one to disable) "private registration".
> > Fine, I've tried to fix it myself, and no. Will require registrar
> > action.
> > 
> > New support ticket. I thank them for prior help, detail 1API Gmbh
> > having pushed out this unrequested change once before, suggest this
> > might have been a similar corporate spasm, give the context that I'm
> > one of those rare people who insist on public WHOIS, and that I've
> > had these domains for decades.
> > 
> > Support guy sends back a one-liner saying:
> > 
> > <---begin--->
> > 
> > Shaswat, 2 Feb 2023, 00:23 UTC
> > 
> > Hello there,
> > 
> > Verisign domains do not show registrant details, regardless of privacy setting.
> > 
> > This is registry policy over which we do not have any influence so there isn't much we can do from our end.
> > 
> > Shaswat
> > 
> > <---end--->
> > 
> > I draft a response, saying "That's odd, I find nobody online discussing
> > Verisign ever adopting such a policy, which is suspicious. Nor can I
> > find any declaration of such a policy. Can you please point me to one?
> > Also, when did this occur? Please give me details so I know how to
> > escalate my complaint at Verisign." (Verisign is indeed the operator of
> > the .com and .net TLDs, since its acquisition of NSI.)
> > 
> > But, before sending, I smell a rat. Wait, does Shaswat's statement
> > actually check out? If it's true, then no .com or .net domains have
> > public WHOIS, any more. Logic!
> > 
> > I check:
> > 
> > o apple.com
> > o verisign.net
> > 
> > Both have public WHOIS. I discard my pending draft response to Shaswat,
> > and politely point out that his assertion is erroneous, citing the above
> > two domains as counter-examples. I reiterate my request, say that his
> > first response is in no way acceptable, and advise checking with his
> > team if he doesn't know how to proceed. I also say he should use
> > standard WHOIS client queried to verify what I said about apple.com and
> > verisign.net -- and paste the contact results for his convenience.
> > 
> > A few minutes later, Shaswat responds:
> > 
> > <---begin--->
> > 
> > Shaswat, 2 Feb 2023, 04:11 UTC
> > 
> > I passed your email to our developers and I am getting the same response.
> > 
> > Here is a third party source that displays registrant info :- +https://www.whois.com/
> > 
> > Despite the privacy being turned off for the domains: linuxmafia.com and +unixmercenary.net, it says redacted.
> > 
> > That's because whois pulls data from the registry database and verisign keeps it
> > private.
> > 
> > Shaswat
> > 
> > <---end--->
> > 
> > Notice the implication that his entire notion of how to view WHOIS
> > is to use an outsourced third-party Web front-end to WHOIS. I.e., I
> > suspect he is completely unaware of /usr/bin/whois and /usr/bin/jwhois .
> > One gets the picture of some underpaid technophone, who knows nothing
> > about the registrar business and uses only a Web browser, never command
> > lines.
> > 
> > I reply back, reiterating that irrespective of what "our developers"
> > say, that is obviously incorrect, and that he can see that for himself
> > using any WHOIS tool including the third-party https://www.whois.com/
> > CGI. I also add that I'd advise him becoming fluent with /usr/bin/whois
> > and /usr/bin/jwhois, as that is a necessary skill for his present job.
> > 
> > That was about 14 hours ago. I'm still waiting to hear... something.
> > 
> > So, I get the picture that CentralNic Group PLC probably laid off
> > all the competent support staff and moved IWantMyName.com support
> > into its existing ultra-low-paid helpdesk staff operation who only
> > copy-paste stock answers and are incompetent to do technical work.
> > 
> > I'm going to give it a day, and maybe try to escalate to the CentralNic
> > Group PLC / IWantMyName.com sales staff, pointing out that they're
> > about to lose a customer.
> > 
> > My expection is: They're going to lose a customer. I suspect they've
> > been Computer Associated.
> > ( http://linuxmafia.com/~rick/lexicon.html#computer-associates )
> > 
> > (1) Michael, I notice you have berleleylug.com (with public WHOIS) at
> > registrar gandi.net . Still happy with them?
> > 
> > (2) Anyone here have a .net domain (with public WHOIS) at gandi.net
> > or any other reputable registrar?
> > 
> > [1] https://iwantmyname.com/about
> > https://iwantmyname.com/blog/iwantmyname-becomes-part-of-centralnic-group-plc
> > 
> > ----- End forwarded message -----
> > 
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> 
> 
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