[technofiend]

Which is exactly why I won't check on any domains I want until I'm ready to buy them: I don't need a "domain taster" locking them up for profit.

[dewey]

You can just use whois.

[CydeWeys]

Yeah, real WHOIS (like from the command line, not one of those sites that proxies it for you). That'll go direct to our registry application, bypassing all registrars entirely.