Public Comment
Internationalized Registration Data Expert Working Group Interim Report
Open Date
14 April 2014 23:59 UTC
Close Date
5 May 2014 23:59 UTC
Staff Report Due
26 May 2014 23:59 UTC
Brief Overview
This Public Forum invites comments on the Interim Report from the Internationalized Registration Data (IRD) Expert Working Group. The Report proposes internationalization requirements for fourteen categories of data elements currently outputted by the various gTLD registration data directory services.
Section I: Description and Explanation
As part of the broader ICANN effort to implement the recommendations from the ICANN Whois Review Team, the Internationalized Registration Data expert working group was formed to recommend the requirements for internationalized registration data (IRD) and produce a data model for the IRD that matches the requirements.
The IRD Working Group has completed its initial deliberation on the data requirements and has produced its Interim Report for public comment.
Section II: Background
Much of the currently accessible domain name registration data1 (DNRD) is encoded free form in US-ASCII. This legacy condition is convenient for WHOIS service users who are sufficiently familiar with languages that can be submitted and displayed in US-ASCII to be able to use US-ASCII script to submit DNRD and make and receive WHOIS queries using that script. However, this data is less useful to the WHOIS service users who are only familiar with languages that require character set support other than US-ASCII for correct submission or display.
The WHOIS Review Team, in its final report, highlights the needs to define requirements, data models and evaluate solutions for internationalized registration data (recommendations 12-14). The ICANN Board adopted an Action Plan in response to the WHOIS Review Team's Final Report that instructs Staff to implement these recommendations.
Subsequently a set of related efforts were formed to implement the WHOIS Review Team recommendations as adopted by the ICANN Board. These are:
- An expert working group to determine the requirements for internationalized registration data.
- A commissioned study to evaluate available solutions for internationalized registration data.
- A Policy Development Process (PDP) to determine whether translation or transliterations of contact information are needed. If so, specify who should bear the burden.
The report published for public comment is an interim report related to the first effort. After careful consideration of the public comments received, the IRD Working Group intends to produce its Final Report by ICANN London Meeting.
1 Domain Name Registration Data (DNRD) refers to the information that individuals or organizations ("registrants") submit when they register a domain name. Domain name registrars or registry operators collect these data, and some of the data is made available for public display or for use by applications.
Section III: Relevant Resources
- Interim Report [PDF, 688 KB]
Section IV: Additional Information
- Expert Working Group Wiki: https://community.icann.org/display/whoisird/WHOIS+RT+IRD+WG+Home
- WHOIS Review Team Final Report, available at: https://www.icann.org/en/news/public-comment/whois-rt-final-report-11may12-en.htm
- Action Plan to Address WHOIS Policy Review Team Report Recommendations." 2012. Available at: http://www.icann.org/en/groups/board/documents/briefing-materials-1-08nov12-en.pdf [PDF, 266 KB]
Comments Closed
Report of Public Comments