NSI is at it again...

[tkoors@famousbrand.com]

First, a little background.  I am a network administrator for a small
company with a single Internet host.  A few weeks back we had our first
intrusion.  Since then I have been trying to increase security on the host
and one of the ways that I was doing this has been to examine the logs every
day to see who has been trying to access the system.  I usually only have an
IP address to work with and have been using whois to put a name with the
address.

Today I was going through the logs and trying to ID some addresses when I
noticed that something was different about the results that whois was
returning.  It took a while for me to figure it out, but NSI has changed the
text of the whois reply.  Previously it had been informational and suggested
other whois databases if nothing was found.  Now it is a lawyerly phrase
that has as its intent enforcement of the claim that NSI owns the whois
database.

I am a relative newcomer to the Internet, but I have been disturbed by the
direction that NSI seems to be heading us all in.  It is, in my opinion, a
mistake to commercialize this aspect of the Internet.  This information is a
community resource and might be better put in the hands of a non-profit
organization or at least a regulated monopoly like a public utility company.
If present trends continue I anticipate one day having to pay for using
whois, much as I might pay for directory assistance.  As for the future of
DNS I cannot even imagine how they will screw it up, but I am certain that
NSI will and I will be forced to pay the cost to both screw it up and then
fix it.

I have little or no confidence in NSI to do anything other than make lots of
money for their owners and investors.

There has to be another way.

Tim Koors
Network Administrator
Famous Brand Shoes
8620 Olive St
St. Louis, Missouri  63132
(314) 991-4120 x144