ACSP Suggestion 2008.18: Modify WHOIS Database

Suggestion

Author: Ted Mittelstaedt   
Submitted On: 12 September 2008

Description:

Please modify the ARIN whois database and add the following field to all ORG objects:

This would be a DATE type field. After the whois database was modified, please commence emailing all POC’s for these orgs, once a year, requesting that the POC send a response indicating if the information regarding the org ID, plus any IP block registrations associated with the PRG, is current in whois. Preferably the emails to the POC would contain the output of a whois query for their particular org ID. The LastContacted: field would be updated when ARIN sends the email out. If the POC responds in the affirmative, then the “Updated:” field in the Org object would be changed to the date that any one of the POC’s responds in the affirmative.

Timeframe: Immediate

Status: Closed   Updated: 29 December 2008

Tracking Information

ARIN Comment

29 December 2008

Your suggestion was that ARIN “add a last contacted date to the WHOIS database, and begin a process of contacting all orgs that have not been contacted in over a year”. To that end, we will begin next month contacting the approximately 35,000 organizations registered in WHOIS that have legacy number resources or ARIN issued number resources. As previously mentioned, ARIN will contact all registered Points of Contact for these organizations by sending an email, annually, requesting them to update their registration information with ARIN.

After further consideration, ARIN will not add a new field called “Last Contacted Date” in WHOIS. We believe doing so will mislead the community into thinking that our contact was successful and based on ARIN’s experience, a significant number of contacts are invalid and our emails will be returned. Ultimately the goal is to keep records updated and ARIN prefers to reflect actual updates in the existing “Last Update Date” rather than potentially confusing the community.