ACSP Suggestion 2018.2: Improvements to Whois Inaccuracy Reporting

Suggestion

Author: Anonymous   
Submitted On: 26 February 2018

Description:

I would like to put forward a proposal which I believe serves the ARIN organization, the ARIN community and the general public, in which the public can be better engaged in reporting ARIN inaccuracies. Currently, the method for reporting an ARIN inaccuracy is not only non-tranparent, but without feedback that reporting such inaccuracies has any affect, I believe that the larger general community would become disallusioned, and not contribute to improving the accuracy.

ARIN has often reported on the difficulty in auditing the records, both in SWIP records, ownership records, and references to ‘whois’ data.

The current method is to follow the instructions listed at https://www.arin.net/public/whoisinaccuracy/index.xhtml. However, this is a one way report, and there is no way the submitter can identify if the report was even received and reviewed by a human, let alone know if an action was taken.

I would suggest that instead, a ’ticket’ system would be used, so that the report would be available for review by the ARIN team, and the ARIN team could provide feedback on when and what form of a notification was made to the holder of that ARIN space, and the progress to rectification.

The general public could also review these tickets, and this would ensure that reports do not slip through the cracks, and are properly followed up on, and that the ARIN mandates are being followed correctly and in a timely manner.

The public could also review the information BEFORE submitting so that could prevent duplicate reports. And by publicly showing tickets in progress, ARIN holders would also have an incentive to fix the problem in a timely manner.

IT might also be integrated into an action system, alerting IP Space holders of open tickets, that they might not be aware of, and offers another avenue for reporting, if for instance the contact information on file for the report is no longer valid.

It also COULD be used by ARIN staff, eg that renewals do not get actioned while there are open tickets to be addressed, to help them with their mandate of maintaining upto date information and accuracy.

Value to Community: Encourages the community to be involved in maintaining and fixing the accuracy of the ARIN database. Let’s them see the value of making such reports, to encourage future reports. Enables the community to assess and audit ARIN’s actioning of such reports. Allows them to determine when inaccurate information has been corrected. Saves them from submitting duplicate requests, when they can see that the report already has an action trail.

Timeframe: Not specified

Status: Open   Updated: 10 April 2018

Tracking Information

ARIN Comment

09 March 2018

Thank you for your suggestion, numbered 2018.2 upon confirmed receipt, requesting ARIN make improvements to Whois inaccuracy reporting.

We have reviewed your suggestion and agree that ARIN’s system for Whois inaccuracy reporting can be improved. Specifically, we intend to convert to a ticketed reporting system. Once this suggestion has been added to our work plan, we will propose an implementation plan to the community through a consultation that includes consideration for the different aspects of your suggestion.

Our development schedule for the 2018 year is currently filled by previously-submitted community suggestions and other system improvements. We currently intend to add your suggestion to our 2019 work plan.

Thank you for participating in the ARIN Consultation and Suggestion Process. Your suggestion will remain open until implemented.

ARIN Comment

10 April 2018

This suggestion is not on the 2018 Work Plan and will be considered as part of the Community Consultation on Open ACSPs in April 2018. This consultation will serve as one of the inputs to help determine which suggestions will be included ARIN’s 2019 Work Plan.