DomainTools new tool “Registrant search” got allot of negative feedback since introduction. Jay Westerdal of DomainTools decided to put the issue on his blog and get some feedback. The result: over a hundred comments, majority are angry.
I wrote the following to his feedback request:
It is really hurting your brand as it put domain owners, your clients, at added risk. Myself, we use privacy on our domains and I would suggest anyone else to do the same.
I would say take it off.
Cheers
Sahar
And here’s a sample of other arguments from the comment area:
maroulis Says:
November 11th, 2007 at 3:22 pmclearly you’re violating WHOIS policy by caching and farming all results for profit. It’s because of this very tool that I’ll be canceling my whois subscription and stop doing business w/DomainTools..
Clearly take it down..
webquest Says:
November 11th, 2007 at 4:49 pmI say take it down. The reasons why should be pretty clear to any domainer without having to explain them.
If you do decide to keep it up despite all the negative feedback, please provide an opt out option, free.
lextext Says:
November 11th, 2007 at 6:30 pmWhy don’t you try to have it both ways? Take it down as a public tool but charge something obscenely outrageous for the trademark attorneys who want the data.
- Bret
namethink Says:
November 12th, 2007 at 1:46 amI think you should take this tool down immediately. It is a tremendous abuse of Whois information.
srt Says:
November 12th, 2007 at 4:17 amKEEP THE SERVICE
As it has been said, in real life, many information are made public.
We use this service to trace fraudster and it’s very convenient.
I’m sure one don’t have to fear registrant search if business model is clean.Furthermore, if you want to take care of your identity, you can already protect your regsitrant information through anonymization services.
In order to protect public information from being used by spammer, We only ask you to let this service as a pay-per-use service.
michael91806 Says:
November 12th, 2007 at 5:37 amJay,
Please keep and enhance the Registrant Search facility. If you give in on this issue then the next demand will be that all WhoIs History records be removed as well. There are government and private organizations that are also archiving WhoIs records but most of us will never have access to that information. Registrant Search empowers all Internet users equally.
The Internet was founded on the presumption of openness and transparency. Around the world today there are many governments and organizations who don’t like to the Internet and what total control over it. Should they feel threatened by the Internet? Yes, for the first time in human history we have the opportunity to create an organizational structure which is not hierarchal. If this bold experiment in human freedom is to succeed the Internet must be open and transparent. Let the governments and criminals find new rocks to hide under; I chose the sunlight.
Mike
danieldoi Says:
November 12th, 2007 at 5:50 amJay, basically DomainTools is used mostly BY domainers, while the tool is used mostly AGAINST domainers.
You decide.
Clearly passionate arguments and users on both sides. My take on it isn’t from a legal perspective but from brand perspective. Will it build more or less trust with your paying customers? Since domaintools is mostly used by domainers this is clearly not in their best interest.
I do think, as others said, a clear need for it was now established and whether Jay keeps it or take it down, someone is going to offer similar service soon.
And the solution for domainers? Privacy (such as offered by Moniker.com) and a good corporate structure. Domainers should think as sophisticated business owners and not simply as domain owners. there’s a big difference between the two. I will try to have more information on this and other asset protection concepts soon.
Sahar
I did’nt find out about Domain Tools Registrant Search until I saw the results listed on google. Scary
Wes