How to Interpret WHOIS Data

**james** · July 6th, 2010, 6:01 PM

Hello all - I joined a couple of weeks ago and it's been an eye-opener! I'm really interested in buying some sites to replace lost income, but the myriad of ways to get robbed are just astounding - but my
question is about understanding data.
I now know where to look for info, but interpreting it is the problem.
For instance, I'm looking at a 7 year old site, but this info comes up in the WHOIS:
2 registrars
NS History:
8 changes on 7 unique name servers over 7 years.
IP History:
6 changes on 6 unique name servers over 5 years.
Whois History:
40 records have been archived since 2004-12-20 .
Reverse IP:
721 other sites hosted on this server.

Why so much 'movement' by the one owner? Or is it a lot?
How & where would I learn to know what this data means? Does anyone know of a book or site that can break this kind of stuff down?
Thanks!

**Clinton** · July 7th, 2010, 2:50 AM

but the myriad of ways to get robbed

james, a lot of web businesses are sold by honest people who may not be looking to "rob" you but their interpretation of what's good about their business is ... clouded, and they're aren't the ones best placed to see the faults.

I personally don't worry too much about NS and IP changes and don't consider them significant. If I were buying the site the only thing I'd find useful in the above data is the fact that the site is on a shared server.

You can of course pay to get full details on the 40 records that have been archived if you're really interested.

There ain't no book my friend, but I have written a bit about due diligence here. There's no substitute for common sense and raising questions when you don't know something.

**james** · July 7th, 2010, 10:05 AM

Thank you, Clinton - why would a shared sever be significant?
Should I 'be interested' in those 40 records? I really don't mind paying for what's needed - it's just at this point, I'm not
sure what all that might be.

**Clinton** · July 7th, 2010, 11:09 AM

It's not particularly significant, but taken in context it's a small piece of useful information. For example, the large volume of traffic claimed by the seller may not be compatible with the site being on shared hosting. If there are posts in the forum about members not being able to access the site, it could be that the hosting needs changing to a more expensive solution i.e. less profit available to take home.

I wouldn't bother about those 40 records.

We are happy to help with any DD questions in the forum, of course, but for privacy or other reasons if ever anyone wants an expert to assist via PM/email, we do have this thread.

**delta4** · July 7th, 2010, 3:37 PM

the only reason why i use whois is to try to know a bit more about owner of the site. not about the site itself.

i try to find new sites owned by the same owner and try to understand is business model. once you have a list of sites you can understand a little better your possible contact.