Domain servers in listed order:
STRAWB.MIT.EDU 18.71.0.151
W20NS.MIT.EDU 18.70.0.160
BITSY.MIT.EDU 18.72.0.3
LITHIUM.LCS.MIT.EDU 18.26.0.121
To see this host record with registered users, repeat the command with a star ('*') before the name; or, use '%' to show JUST the registered users.
Much better! Now this information (sought, possibly, by a system administrator) can be used to find out how to notify MIT of a security issue or problem with connectivity.
Queries can be made for individuals as well; the following would yield an entry for the author:
% whois brendan
Kehoe, Brendan (BK59) brendan@cs.widener.edu
Widener University
Department of Computer Science
Kirkbride 219
P.O. Box 83 Widener University
Chester, PA 19013
(215)/499-4011
Record last updated on 02-May-91.
Included is the author's name, his handle (a unique sequence of letters and numbers), information on how to contact him, and the last time the record was modified in any way.
Anyone can register with the whois database. People who are administrative or technical contacts for domains are registered automatically when their domain applications are processed. For normal users, one must simply fill out a form from the NIC. FTP to nic.ddn.mil and get the file netinfo/user-template.txt. The completed form should be mailed to registrar@nic.ddn.mil.
Other Uses of WHOIS
Also, many educational sites run WHOIS servers of their own, to offer information about people who may be currently on the staff or attending the institution. To specify a WHOIS server, many implementations include some sort of option or qualifier—-in VMS under MultiNet, it's /HOST, in Unix -h. To receive information about using the Stanford server, one might use the command