I just got this email, pretty awful if you ask me:

----------------------------------------------------------------------
Namecheap.com
.US Domain WhoisGuard Removal Notification
Date: 1/26/2006 4:50:15 AM EST
----------------------------------------------------------------------


Dear Mike (myusername),

Due to .US registry rule change mandated by the United States
Department of Commerce's National Telecommunications and Information
Administration (NTIA), we are required to disable WhoisGuard on the
following domains.

WG EXPIRES DOMAIN
Jul 01,2006 adomainnameiregistered.us


Based on the rules, private registrations for .US domains will no longer
be allowed. To maintain the domain without issues, accruate contact
information should be provided to the registry. This rule takes effect
today (Jan 26, 2005).

To follow the guidelines, We will be disabling all .US WhoisGuards
after Jan 26, 2005 11:59 PM EST. So, you can either disable it manually
or the WhoisGuard will be automatically disabled after the above date.
After the WhoisGuard is disabled, your real contact information will
be showin in .US Whois instead of ours.

We apologize for the inconvenience this may cause. We will be glad to
provide you with a WhoisGuard subsription for the remaining months. You
will be able to use that subscription on any of your existing non US
domains. If you want to avail this option, please contact support.

Thank you,
Namecheap.com
http://www.namecheap.com


It's bloody ridiculous. Why should we have to give up personal privacy? This is the last .us domain i ever register.

It's bloody ridiculous. Why should we have to give up personal privacy? This is the last .us domain i ever register.

It's for the same reason that we now have to be photographed and fingerprinted before being allowed to spend our hard-earned money in your country...

I just got this email, pretty awful if you ask me:




It's bloody ridiculous. Why should we have to give up personal privacy? This is the last .us domain i ever register.

I believe your preaching to the choir.....I got the same notification for two of my domains

Here's a website about it - http://www.americansdeserveprivacy.com/index.php

Enom advised their ETP's about this a few weeks ago. The .US registry has a cut-off for all registrars to be compliant or else face de-accreditation

I could see a business here? Basically have a business register the domain and use their details on your behalf. Pretty much the same thing the domain registrars were doing.

There are alternatives to registrar privacy services that are safer. Register a DBA (business name) at city hall then rent a PO Box. Spread the cost over multiple domains.

.uk domains only allow privacy on personal domains - business domains (including any site with ads or Adsense) must post real info.

Does anybody know if it's alright to put a voicemail number in my whois details? I don't like recieving phone calls at home from the internet.

Does anybody know if it's alright to put a voicemail number in my whois details? I don't like recieving phone calls at home from the internet.

Registrars basically need an active phone number so they can contact you. Not
really sure if a voicemail number's sufficient, why not ask enetwork?

To the other registrar members: is a voicemail phone enough?

Registrars basically need an active phone number so they can contact you. Not
really sure if a voicemail number's sufficient, why not ask enetwork?

To the other registrar members: is a voicemail phone enough?

How would anyone be able to tell the difference between

- someone's home phone number which goes to voicemail when that person is not at home, and

- a number that goes to voicemail permanently?

As long as it's a phone number where you can be reached there shouldn't be a problem.

Registrars basically need an active phone number so they can contact you. Not
really sure if a voicemail number's sufficient, why not ask enetwork?

To the other registrar members: is a voicemail phone enough?

As long as the contact phone number is valid and accurate, it would be acceptable. Nothing states that the phone must be answered by a human.

Tom

What about a PO Box? Namecheap's interface calls that field as as "Street Address". I"m not sure if they want my home address, or my po box.

[edit]

just got an email from namecheap. Both voicemail and PO Box are acceptable.

just got an email from namecheap. Both voicemail and PO Box are acceptable.


That's good to know ....thanks

Ray

:caflag:

So the US goverment forced the registrars to remove privacy protection?

Yes and i really dont see why. I mean, in case you are under FBI investigation they can force registrar to reveal your data anyway. I dont know whats the point in having info publicly exposed. To help spammers?

I agree, why would any gov body try to tell us what information should show

I agree, why would any gov body try to tell us what information should show

I only could answer this with another quote (thanks, Lubeca!)

It's for the same reason that we now have to be photographed and fingerprinted before being allowed to spend our hard-earned money in your country...

This news makes me glad I've never purchased a .us domain, and now I never will. Granted, I don't use WhoIs Guard on all of my domains, but I don't like someone else deciding for me whether or not it's an option.

This rule has been known for some time. I think it was about a year ago Bob Parsons complained about it in his blog. Like it or not, Namecheap has to comply. However, I think they should have given more advance notice. That could have given you more time to get a P.O. Box and a throwaway email address into the whois before it becomes vulnerable to harvesting by the spammers.

They did threaten to de-accredited ANY registrars that failed to comply(in the .us namespace only)