Study Suggestion Number 8

[study-suggestion-response@xxxxxxxxx]

Submitted By:
[Redacted for privacy reasons]

Topic:
The participation of certain registrars in spam abuse through the registrar's 
toleration of falsified whois records, as demonstrated by their refusal to take 
action on whois data problem reports.

Hypothesis:
-Falsified whois records are often associated with spammers
-Certain registrars fail to enforce whois accuracy
-These registrars benefit financially by harbouring spammers
-Registrars appear to face no consequences for unethical handling of whois 
inaccuracy

How the hypothesis could be falsified:
-Statistical analysis of whois problem reports and registrar responses

Utility:
Registrars which chronically violate ICANN policies in regards to whois 
accuracy could have their accreditation revoked.

Type of Study Needed:
Examination of existing whois reports, and comparison with other domains in the 
registry

Data that needs to be collected:
-Comparison of whois records with standard postal/telephone formats (ex. is a 
recorded address a valid combination of state, zip, country; is telephone 
prefix valid for country - these could be automated).

Population to be surveyed:
Sampling of domains from certain registrars; samples from domains registered 
within a given period of time.

Sample Size:
If validity testing is automated, then a large number of domain records could 
be tested for validity ( >100)

Type of Analysis:
Statistical analysis, and examination of whois records and WDPR responses to 
judge whether systematic abuse of the whois registry is being tolerated by any 
registrars.