Previously I discovered that if you buy a .NYC domain & enrage the local tax authority in city hall (or even the IRS) they can seize your domain (& there is little you can do about it except appease them via money & tears!).
Now there is yet another reason why any sane person should avoid purchasing a .NYC for personal use.
“WILL PROXY REGISTRATIONS, SOMETIMES CALLED “DOMAIN PRIVACY” BE ALLOWED ON MY .NYC DOMAIN NAME?”
“Proxy registrations are not permitted under current policy.”
“The .nyc TLD has compelling interest in ensuring that its top-level domain is administered in a secure manner and that the information contained within .nyc is reliable, accurate, and up-to date. One of the mechanisms to ensure the integrity of .nyc is the maintenance of a complete and accurate WHOIS database. A complete and accurate WHOIS database promotes New York City’s interest in preventing identity theft, fraud and other on-line crime, in promoting the public’s ability to police its rights against unlawful copyright and trademark infringement, and avoiding technical mishaps. (OwnIt.nyc FAQ)”
While private registration is irritating when pursuing a trademark issue or criminal investigation (at least for lawyers & cops), it’s vital for personal bloggers & Padawan web masters living in the age of the easily offended.
Harassment online from haters can be intense (especially towards women!) for anyone holding secular, religious, political, scientific & even a sports view point (especially in a bar!), which is why paying for privacy is worth it’s weight in code!
Possible Solution‽
Instead of forcing people to expose their private info to the world (which includes email, address, name & phone number) the lords at .NYC may want to adopt measures by ICM Registry:
“In order for your .XXX domain name to become a resolving live website and offer any content, you must first complete our Sponsored Community Membership Application.”
Note: Regardless of whether you choose domain privacy or not, ICM Registry verifies the phone number, date of birth, email address, physical address, etcetera, (that you supplied to them previously) automagically via iRobot over the phone.
Once you are verified as human…
“Once the Membership Application is complete, you will receive an email from ICM Registry with your Membership Token. You need to provide this token to your registrar so that each .XXX domain you have registered can be associated with the token. .XXX domains that are not associated with a Membership Token will not resolve to a live website so it is important for you to complete this final step.”
While this might make libertarians like me unhappy (as city hall would have your details & could verify at will), it would allow New Yorkers to show support for the 8th wonder of the world without sacrificing personal info into the digital hands of spammers, trolls, stalkers & telemarketers.
