Whois Export and Exchange Format
Abstract This memo presents a technique for using XML (Extensible Mark-up Language) as a source format exchanging WHOIS data related to Domain Registration Information, for the purpose of exporting Registry, Registrar, or Registrant data into a portable and verifiable format. Discussion on this Internet-Draft is to be held on the mailing list ietf-whois@imc.org, which is hosted by the Alice's Registry, Inc. To subscribe, send an email to ietf-whois-request@imc.org, with the text "subscribe" as the only word in the body of the mail. There is an archive of the mailing list at [7]
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The cited memo was the basis for the present whois format for .com and .net gTLDs in 2001. It is presently outdated, as the memo refers to RRP statuses. In 2006, Verisign passed to EPP for the management of its gTLDs. This memo is cited in the spamwiki for historical reference and to share a better understanding of why the whois for these gTLDs is in the current format.