The rules, they are changing…

It happens. We change our addresses, our email addresses, our phone numbers – and from time to time we will find ourselves locked out of something or other. You find yourself between a rock and a hard place, looking for a means to validate who you are using details that were right once, but no longer work.

A sweeping new policy being introduced across non country code domains, or gTLD‘s  (general top level domains) means the effects of this kind of event are going to be far wider reaching. ICANN are the global governing body of such things. They are enforcing a a new policy regarding changes and transfers of domain names. As such – each top level registrar (eNom, OpenSRS etc.) will me implementing these changes, and it WILL effect how you manage your domain names.

ITRP – Changing and Transferring.

The ITRP (inter-registrar transfer policy) is the means by which an agreed transfer policy occurs, is costed, handled, and validated. You will no doubt know this mechanism by its effects – registrations and renewals resulting in a confirmation email being sent out to the email address on the WHOIS for the domain – and – not being able to transfer the domain for 60 days after registration or renewal.

As of the 1st of December 2016 the validation process that the ITRP applies will apply to changes of ownership, and updates to the WHOIS information on the domain name.

So what does this really mean for us?

Well if you want to change your details you

 – Need to confirm both the old and the new email address are valid;

 – Once a change such as this is made, there would be no further changes or transfers for 60 days.

Oh my.

Given the issues that the current implementation raises, due to details that are no longer working, we foresee more complication in the future for anyone who does not keep their domain contact details up to date.

So what happens if the details are not available? Valid? “We have not used that address in years?”

Well the if the email bounces, or is unable to be delivered, there will be two options – the redelivery (if this was an email fault, temporary rejection or similar), or sending via SMS to the number supplied on the WHOIS.

Again – I can feel the collective facepalm and the likes of “that’s the phone number from CellNet 90’s Nokia?!”

All is not lost!

There is a fallback. Under these new rules – as a broker – we are in a position to update the phone details, as long as we can validate them. A change of SMS number (so you are able to receive texts to your phone – which will likely to be tied to a network, a mast, a location, and is a fair way to track and identify in this day and age) is one of these. This is not considered as a change of registrant (as address, name, or email address would be). As such this is not the end of days – however we can feel the wave of confusion, annoyance and delay building on the horizon.

The best policy is obviously to keep your details current. More over – update the details in the next few days before the new changes come into play.

So with that in mind – put down that suitably autumnal beverage, pull up your control panel, and update those details right now before the policy gets bought into play.

If you have any questions about this, transfers, details, privacy, or anything else – do let us know!