[dns-operations] Registration service provider

[Jim Reid]

On 27 Jun 2011, at 15:57, Florian Weimer wrote:

> Is this something Tucows-specific,

No. They're all at it, pretty much.

> or is this something which should be
> included in the WHOIS data model (alongside registry, registrar,
> registrant, admin-c, tech-c, zone-c, billing-c etc.)?

I sincerely hope not. But that's a question best asked somewhere else,  
like the provreg list or an ICANN meeting. I'd advise against it  
though because of what will emerge from best left unopened can of  
worms. It's deeply, deeply unpleasant.

> Is the company just a reseller of registrar services?

I don't know. It looks like they're one of the many thriving  
businesses that offer proxy or privacy whois services. Though why  
people feel the need to buy that is beyond me. It's very rare to find  
a TLD that rejects or actively polices registrant contact data. At  
$5-6 a name (wholesale), how many registries can afford to check?