Wikipedia:Abuse response/Responsible organizations

When looking up a WHOIS record, it is not always clear to whom a report of abuse should be sent.

The Abuse Response team defines responsible organizations as any organization which is responsible for the use of its computer networks to access the internet, and therefore responsible for the user's conduct using that network, as defined by the organization's acceptable use policies and so forth. This naturally varies depending on the type of organization, and the type of users accessing the particular network:
 * An educational institution is the responsible organization for all student and faculty access of the internet on their network.
 * A governmental entity is the responsible organization for all staff access of the internet on their network.
 * A corporation is the responsible organization for all staff access of the internet on their network.
 * An internet service provider (ISP) is the responsible organization for all customer access of the internet on their network.

Primary and Secondary
In all cases except a customer's usage through their internet service provider's network, there is both the primary and secondary which is usually the internet service provider. In most cases, we report to the primary organization, but there is no rule that there cannot also be a report sent to the secondary as well. A primary responsible organization is almost always in more of a position to control and respond to abuse originating form their jurisdiction, whereas a secondary will likely defer any such report back to the primary organization.

It is important therefore to keep in mind when looking up an IP address which is the primary and which is the secondary.