Using a private registration for a web site creates suspicion.
I was driving through my neighborhood today when I saw a sign with the domain name “StopLake35.com” on it. That caught my attention. When I got home I checked out the web site.
StopLake35.com is dedicated to stopping the development of a planned 180 boat marina just down the road from my house on Lake Austin. (35 is a busy highway that runs through Austin). The site suggests that the marina will lead to more traffic and decreased safety on the lake. It also asks people to not do business with the two developers of the marina.
The web site doesn’t mention who is behind StopLake35.com, so I checked the whois record. Alas, it is a private registration through GoDaddy’s patented Domains by Proxy.
That makes me suspicious. Is the site just run by a concerned neighbor? Or maybe it’s a rival developer. Perhaps it’s a company with a competing marina that doesn’t want the competition. Or the marina’s next door neighbor who doesn’t want the noise.
Maybe I’m just thinking the worst. It could simply be a concerned neighbor who was cross-sold while registering his domain at GoDaddy. After all, he was told that a private registration “protects you from domain-related spam, identity theft and fraud, “data miners”, privacy intrusions and more.” For $10, who wouldn’t save themselves from identity theft?
But I must assume the worst. That’s why anyone who creates a legitimate web site should not use a whois privacy service. If I’m about to order a product from a web site and I’m at all concerned about its legitimacy, the first thing I’ll do is check the whois record. If it’s protected I’ll assume it’s a scam and abandon my shopping cart.
Whois privacy has its place, and that’s not for a legitimate web site.
Brian says
I would agree that using Whois Privacy if your are a legitimate company could give across the wrong impression. However, as a measure to stop spam for people who have registered domains for personal reasons, I think it is a good tool. It sounds more like the URL you refer to may have been registered by a resident rather than a competitor.
I suspect that if it was a competitor, they would have much tighter controls over what can and can’t be entered into their forum. All posts to date appear to spam … and some of it not very nice at that!
Eric says
So you are saying you would trust a website more if they didn’t have privatization? What a website that has a P.O. Box as their mailing address? How is this any different?
Todd says
I’ve read the original post and the comments, and yet no one has defined “legitimate”. Does it mean that the opinions expressed on the website are worthy of consideration? Does it mean that whoever is behind the website has good intentions?
If neither the website in question nor its privacy keepers (you mentioned it is GoDaddy) provides registration information, and you thus deem it “illegitimate”, does it mean? I can think of one popular blog that does not provide info on who’s behind it. (By the way, I searched the blog I was interested in, and Wikipedia somehow seemed to find out something about the blog.) Do you consider bloggers who provide no registrant information (other than to their domain company) “illegitimate”? Would that somehow invalidate the views of whoever is behind the website? I’m just asking. Thank you for listening to my poor attempt at socratic dialogue.
Regards,
Todd
Julie says
I disagree with the conclusion. Several years ago, I discovered on a “whois” search that someone had registered several domain names using MY contact information. The only information that was different was the e-mail address. That, in addition to the mail and e-mail from spammers telling me my domain name was in danger of being stolen if I didn’t contact them immediately (and pay them money) convinced me I could no longer have my registration information out on the internet for everyone to see. All my domain names are privately registered, including the ones for my non-domain businesses.
A web site that has legitimate contact information (phone number and/or address in addition to e-mail) is much more important to me in determining legitimacy than the whois registration.
Andrew says
That’s fair, Julie. I think I wasn’t clear: the reason I went to Whois in the first place was because there was no contact into on the web site. If there’s contact info then I don’t bother with Whois.
Andrew says
Eric, the difference with a PO Box is you still have a valid phone number and email address.
Todd says
If I may post again — in my weak Socratic fashion — I would like to ask what is meant by “illegitimate”.
carole says
This is an example of someone speaking without doing research.
First, learn the definition of Whois Privacy and how and WHY it’s set up, what the process is, by trying it first, and be sure its with a reputable web host, before you speak out against the people who use it.
Private whois, is NOT anonymity. ICANN requires the true domain owner’s name be listed with the server when a private whois is up, just as a public one. The server takes responsibility for the spam, before you get it, hence catching the freaks who steal IDs for profit. Think of it as another layer of spam guard, ID protection.
WHO is is not reputable. Anyone can get a packnship mailbox. WHO IS domains are hijacked, sold, spammed, stalked.
Furthermore, I find it more suspicious that you do not value a person’s privacy than the person who protects theirs with WIP. WHO IS should be banned completely.
This service helps FIGHT ID theft and spam, and illegal transfer, sales and hijacking of domain names. I plan on using it, and I am legitimate, so i was quite insulted when you said illegitimate people use this service. You are wrong on that one.
Think…common sense. Why would some illegal person go to the trouble for a private whois, when they can just steal and use yours?