Getting hold of serial numbers

[Jonathan de Boyne Pollard]

BM> If you ever see a difference between WHOIS and a delegation, it's
BM> either because you caught it during a change window (the WHOIS
BM> database has updated, but the changes haven't propagated to the GTLD
BM> servers) or something is broken in the process of feeding data from
BM> registrar to registry to DNS.

JdeBP> The change window is the other way around, usually. Registries
JdeBP> will update the DNS databases (that their content DNS servers
JdeBP> publish) from the registry database more frequently than they will
JdeBP> update the NICNAME database (that their NICNAME servers publish)
JdeBP> from the registry database.

SB> Update your vocabulary:

Be less credulous of RFCs.

SB> since RFC 3912, the name "NICNAME" disappeared

Only in some people's wishful fancies.  IANA said "nicname" in its list 
of port assignments a week ago, and still says so today (IANA list dated 
2004-12-15, six days ago).

The fact that RFC 3912 conflates the tool with the protocol is a deficiency 
of RFC 3912.  (NICNAME is, of course, far from the sole protocol that 
"whois" tools speak.)

SB> and, even before that, everybody said "WHOIS".

This must be some idiosyncratic definition of the word "everybody", that 
doesn't actually mean everybody.  Excluding copies of RFCs 812 and 954, 
Google finds 28100 instances of people saying "nicname".  Moreover, 
"everybody" says "Internet" for "World Wide Web", "My SMTP server 
connects to the other server.", "I have an Electrolux hoover.", 
"Memorise your PIN number." and "For the sake of auld lang syne", too.

SB> And for the facts, I seriously question the "usually". Our own name
SB> servers [...]

... are outnumbered two to one in this thread alone.  "usually" seems to 
be about right.