All, On 7 May, 2009, the GNSO Council requested that policy staff, with the assistance of technical staff and GNSO Council members as required, collect and organize a comprehensive set of requirements for the WHOIS service policy tools. The GNSO Council asked that these requirements reflect not only the known deficiencies in the current WHOIS service but also should include any possible requirements that may be needed to support various policy initiatives that have been suggested in the past. Attached is staff's Initial WHOIS Service Requirements Report in response to this request. Steve Sheng is the primary author of this report. As part of the work, the GNSO Council also requested that we consult with the ALAC, ccNSO, GAC and SSAC on this initial report, and an updated synthesis will be prepared following those consultations. Specifically, through the staff liaisons, we will be sending this report to each of the SO and AC Chairs and we are seeking specific input as follows: 1) Have we adequately identified the origins of each requirement and provided sufficient background? 2) Did we miss any important requirements of or improvements to WHOIS that have been discussed to-date? 3) Do you have any suggestions on how we can improve the clarity of the document? 4) any other comments are welcome. We are asking for comments by close of business on Monday, May 17. Our plan is to incorporate the feedback into the draft report and publish the final report before the Brussels meeting. We consider this report to be a working document that will be updated and refined upon community review. Questions and input should be directed to Steve Sheng of the policy staff. Both Steve and I gave "preview" presentations of this report during the Nairobi meetings and we can provide a brief overview at the upcoming Council meeting. Steve will be conducting two webinars during April and May to brief the community on the report and to respond to questions. More information on those events is forthcoming. We thank you in advance for your valuable feedback. Liz Gasster and Steve Sheng