Domain registrations and the public release of private info

[MichaelD]

I'm about to register a domain name with Godaddy.com. I read their agreement, and they state:

You agree that for each domain name registered by you the following information will be made publicly available in the Whois directory as determined by ICANN Policy and may be sold in bulk as set forth in the ICANN agreement:

The domain name
Your name and postal address
The email address, postal address, voice and fax numbers for technical and administrative contacts
The Internet protocol numbers for the primary and secondary name servers
The corresponding names of the name servers
The original date of registration and expiration date

You agree that, to the extent permitted by ICANN, Go Daddy may make use of the publicly available information you provided during the registration process.

So does this mean that my real name, mailing addy and phone numbers will be available to the general public? That is not good. Is there a LEGAL way around this?

 

[DaveSimmons]

WHOIS service has been available since the dawn of time. Expect to receive website-related spam as soon as you register the domain but don't put in false information or someone else can come in and hijack your domain (there was a thread here on this a couple of weeks ago). Also, changes to the information must be approved through the e-mail you provide, so a bogus e-mail means you can't update the information.

The best you could do is incorporate and have the corporation own the domain.

 

[vi edit]

You're self employed.

The domain name: Big Mikes house of Big Snakes
Your name and postal addressPO box 69, Snakeville texas
The email address, postal address, voice and fax numbers for technical and administrative contactsbigmike@bigmikessnakes.com(and you don't have a phone number...
The Internet protocol numbers for the primary and secondary name serverslist em whatever they are
The corresponding names of the name serverssupplied to you by dns hosting service
The original date of registration and expiration datewhatever

Moral of the story: you are paying them money(READ: PROFIT). They aren't going to do a full scale investigation to verify your phone number and physical address.

So long as your billing address you give them matches your credit card billing address, you're fine.

One hint though - assign yourself as the administrative contact, and make the contact email addy pretty permanent. If you don't and you loose the email addy, it'll be a bitch to do anything with the domain in the future.

 

[MichaelD]

Thanks guys. I get the general idea.

So, can the mailing address be different from the billing address? I have no moral quandry about putting in a fictitious street addy, but obviously, I have to give them my real CC info and billing address for billing purposes, but I don't want that going out to the world.

 

[AnthraX101]

I feel that the WhoIS database is good and vital...it helps to put the scum of the earth out of business.

Armani

 

[MichaelD]

OK, maybe I need to reword the question?

I want to legally register a domain name. However, it clearly states on the first registration page that you must use "accurate and true" information to be able to legally own that domain name.

It also states that this info is public info. How do I legally get around this? Yes, I read vi_edit's reply about the fictitious company and I have NO problem doing that, but also dont' want someone to come along a buy my domain name out from under me b/c I legally don't own it b/c I used a fake name/address.

Is this a plain old "Catch-22, damned if you do and if you don't" situation? Thanks.

 

[Soybomb]

With all the years I've had a domain registered, no one has ever hunted me down..........use your work address if you're scared that someone might know where you live I guess.

 

[RossMAN]

Get a PO Box.

 

[jjones]

I don't know what you're so worried about; I've registered dozens of domains and don't really have more than the usual spam problems of people who have never registered domains. I probably have less problems because I'm very protective of my e-mail addresses.

I can tell you one thing, if you ever have any registration problems and have a defunct e-mail address and your other registration data does not match up to what you have on your driver's license, comany letterhead or other forms of identification, it is very likely you're in for one hell of a PITA to get it all sorted out. I know this from a couple of wonderful experiences with Network Solutions.