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List:       isn
Subject:    [ISN] Whois Deadspammer.com? (Domains on Disk followup)
From:       mea culpa <jericho () dimensional ! com>
Date:       1998-09-25 1:01:10
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Forwarded From: phreak moi <hackerelite@deathsdoor.com>

http://www.wired.com/news/news/technology/story/15221.html

Whois Deadspammer.com?
by James Glave
4:40 p.m.  24.Sep.98.PDT

An Internet marketing firm deep-sixed plans to sell the contents of its
Internet domain-name database after furious netizens crippled the
company's network and threatened more serious action. 

"People from all over the world threatened that they would kill us, sue
us, or do worse," said John DeUlloa, marketing consultant for Domains on
Disc. "It is amazing how the Internet, if it really wanted to, could
prevent a product or a service from either going online or staying
online." 

The ruckus began earlier this week when reports emerged on mailing lists
and in the media that Domains on Disk was selling the entire contents of
the "whois"  database. 

Maintained by the Internet Network Information Center, the database
contains contact information -- such as names, phone numbers, and emails
-- for millions of Internet domain-name owners.  The information is public
but is intended for use by network administrators. 

That changed when a spam suggesting that the database could be used by
direct marketers hit mailboxes across the Net earlier this week. 

"You may now email offers for your products/services to 100,000's of
prospects for pennies... GUERRILLA MARKETING AT ITS FINEST!" read the
message. 

One network administrator said she "freaked out" when she saw the message,
fearing that she would start to receive unsolicited commercial email at
her work account. 

"The whois database is not for direct marketing," said Andrea Di Lecce, a
Canadian network manager working for a large Internet access company. "Its
purpose is to offer contacts for a domain." 

Domains on Disk did not send the spam, which originated in the San Diego
area, said DeUlloa, "Anyone can do that." 

The product was never intended for use as a mass email list by spammers,
he added. 

"Ultimately, it was done for marketing,"  said DeUlloa, who explained that
its intended use was for demographic research for direct mail campaigns. 

A message on the company's Web site signaled the end of the episode on
Tuesday: "Due to the overwhelming amount of e-mail that we have received,
Domains on Disc has decided to indefinitely suspend the sale of this
product." 

The company had expected to sell 10,000 copies of Domains on Disc for
US$249 each, said DeUlloa. "This thing would have done very, very well.
But you can't put a price tag on someone's life, or well being." 

Di Lecce had a different perspective.  "The lesson is simple: The Internet
is a somewhat free medium, but that does not mean that you can go ahead
and do whatever you want." 

-o-
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