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Comment Open:

18 February 2012

Comment Close:

18 March 2012

Close Time (UTC):

23:59

Reply Open:

19 March 2012

Reply Close:

8 April 2012

Close Time (UTC):

23:59

Brief Overview

Originating Organization:

Stakeholder Relations

Categories/Tags:

WHOIS

Purpose (Brief):

To receive community feedback on the proposed draft roadmap to implement SAC 051.

Current Status:

As requested by the ICANN Board, ICANN would like to propose the following roadmap for the coordination of the technical and policy discussions necessary to implement the recommendations outlined in SAC 051.

Next Steps:

As requested by the Board resolution, ICANN will post this draft Roadmap for community consultation, requesting community input on the scope, timing, utility, challenges, and ways to overcome those challenges that should also be considered.
Staff will be conducting a public workshop on the draft roadmap in Costa Rica as a further means of consulting with the community. In order to allow extensive time for community dialogue and comment, it is envisioned to have two public comment periods allowing the draft Roadmap to evolve with the input received. Following that, the report will be finalized for Board and community action by the Prague meeting in June 2012.

Staff Contact:

Kurt Pritz

Email:

kurt.pritz@icann.org

Detailed Information

Section I: Description, Explanation, and Purpose

As requested by the ICANN Board, ICANN would like to propose the following roadmap for the coordination of the technical and policy discussions necessary to implement the recommendations outlined in SAC 051. This roadmap, including the preliminary recommendations, is published for community input and feedback. Following review of the comments received as part of the public comment forum as well as community consultation in Costa Rica, this roadmap will be updated accordingly and submitted to the ICANN Board for its consideration.

Section II: Background

Created in the 1980s, Whois began as a service used by Internet operators to identify individuals or entities responsible for the operation of a network resource on the Internet. The Whois service has since evolved into a tool used for many purposes. However, as usage of Whois service evolved, few changes have been made to the protocol that supports the service. As a result, there is growing concern that the protocol would not meet the need of the community. 
Beginning in 2002, ICANN's Security and Stability Advisory Committee (SSAC) published various advisories describing deficiencies related to the WHOIS protocol, service and data schema, most recently SAC 051: SSAC_ Report on Domain Name WHOIS Terminology and Structure_. SAC 051 summarizes the previous advisories, and among other things, recommends that the ICANN community evaluate and adopt a replacement protocol. 
Recognizing its concerns with the WHOIS protocol deficiencies, on 28 October 2011, the ICANN Board approved a resolution directing staff to produce, in consultation with the community, a roadmap for the coordination of the technical and policy discussions necessary to implement the recommendations outlined in SAC 051.

Section III: Document and Resource Links

February 18 Draft Roadmap SAC 051 [PDF, 214 KB]

Section IV: Additional Information

None