RFC 10023: A DNS signal for domains that are for sale

4 points by mdavids 21 days ago | 2 comments

The IETF recently published RFC 10023, which I authored. It defines a small DNS convention for signalling that a registered domain is currently for sale.

What has been particularly encouraging is the amount of traction and support it has already received so soon after publication. A number of tools and projects have already added support or are building around the idea, including:

- https://forsaledns.net/ — an early adopter and reference implementation.

- https://for-sale-dns.hx-std.com/ — a simple lookup tool and record generator.

- TLDX — a tool for quickly finding available domain names.

- happyDomain — centralised domain management.

- https://ipwhois.net/domain/example.nl — a domain and DNS lookup service.

- https://inspectmydns.com/ — another handy DNS inspection tool.

- https://ipaddress.to/lookup/example.nl — a collection of useful domain/IP tools, with API output that also helps detect syntax errors.

- https://www.rfc10023.de/en — a new tool aimed primarily at German-speaking users, with an English version already taking shape.

The basic idea is deliberately simple: a domain owner can publish a `_for-sale` TXT record:

_for-sale.example.com. 300 IN TXT "v=FORSALE1;furi=https://example.com/buy"

That's it - the domain has it's for sale sign.

Further info: https://rfc10023.nl/

Let me know what you think and please let me know if I’ve missed anything or if there are any updates to the list I keep!

toomuchtodo 21 days ago |

Meta: How did you decide to author this RFC and what was it like bringing it through the process?

mdavids 21 days ago | |

I work for SIDN, the ccTLD registry for .nl. Around 2022, we came up with an idea together with some of our registrars: to add a "for sale" button to the WHOIS page for domain names that are for sale.

We soon realised that the underlying method could be useful beyond .nl as well. So at SIDN Labs, we decided to turn the idea into an RFC and take it through the IETF process.

https://www.sidnlabs.nl/en/news-and-blogs/a-digital-for-sale...

https://www.sidn.nl/en/forsale-from-a-pilot-scheme-to-a-grow...

Taking it through the IETF was an interesting and very educational experience. There were both supporters and people who challenged various aspects of the proposal, but I think the document ultimately became much better because of that.