One of the memes driving this WHOIS change is the old idea of "starving the beast". People involved in policy discussions complain that "spammers" -- many only marginally fit that term other than by the strictest interpretation -- use the public WHOIS data to contact domain owners. I've countered that 20+ years experience trying to "starve the beast" by trying to deny them access to email and other casual contact info has proven the approach to be useless. Choosing the privacy options on your domain registration is probably just as, if not more, effective. Another argument against this whole idea is that in most countries one is required by law to provide valid contact information if they are doing business with the general public. That would include soliciting donations etc. And that's essentially why domains exist, organizational contact. This trend towards "vanity" domains is relatively recent and really the only reason one can even claim there is a problem. Granted there's that gray area of dissident political movements etc. but their full time job is protecting their identity. I doubt Microsoft or General Motors are excited to see that their domain registration contact information will soon be protected by law. -- -Barry Shein Software Tool & Die | bzs@TheWorld.com | http://www.TheWorld.com Purveyors to the Trade | Voice: +1 617-STD-WRLD | 800-THE-WRLD The World: Since 1989 | A Public Information Utility | *oo*