NOTE: This charter is accurate as of the 29th IETF Meeting in Seattle. It may now be out-of-date. (Consider this a "snapshot" of the working group from that meeting.) Up-to-date charters for all active working groups can be found elsewhere in this Web server.

Whois and Network Information Lookup Service (WNILS) Charter

Chair(s)

Mailing List Information

Description of Working Group

The Network Information Center maintains the central ``NICNAME'' database and server, defined in RFC 954, providing on-line look-up of individuals, network organizations, key nodes, and other information of interest to those who use the Internet. Other distributed directory information servers and information retrieval tools have been developed and it is anticipated more will be created. Many sites now maintain local directory servers with information about individuals, departments and services at that specific site. Typically these directory servers are network accessible. Because these servers are local, there are now wide variations in the type of data stored, access methods, search schemes, and user interfaces. The purpose of the Whois and Network Information Lookup Service (WNILS) Working Group is to expand and define the standard for WHOIS services, to resolve issues associated with the variations in access and to promote a consistent and predictable service across the network.

Goals and Milestones

Done
Review and approve the charter making any changes deemed necessary. Examine the particular functional needs for expanded whois directory service. Begin work on a framework for recommendations. Assign writing assignments for first draft of document.
Done
Post the Whois and Network Information Lookup Service Recommendations document as an Internet-Draft.
Apr 1993
Post the revised WHOIS protocol and index service document to the IESG as an Internet-Draft.
Done
Post the ``Architecture of the Whois++ Index Service'' as an Internet-Draft.
Jun 1993
Submit the Whois and Network Information Lookup Service Recommendations document as an Informational RFC.
Jun 1993
Submit the ``Architecture of the WHOIS++ Index Service'' to the IESG for consideration as an Informational RFC.
Sep 1993
Submit a revised WHOIS protocol specification and index service document to the IESG for consideration as a Draft Standard.

NOTE: The Internet-Draft(s) listed below may have been deleted since they are only good for six months.

Internet-Drafts

RFCs