As the name suggests, the .xxx top level domain is planned as a virtual red light district, the idea being that by grouping adult oriented material into a single TLD it would be easier to block and control access to these sites. As per the proposal, use of the .xxx TLD would be entirely optional, and it is more than likely that existing adult oriented .com sites would keep their existing .com domain names in addition to any new .xxx domain names.
Or rather, that was the idea. At the request of the U.S. government, ICANN (the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers) has postponed the launch of the TLD in response to almost 6,000 letters and e-mail received by the Commerce Department expressing concern about online pornography and the setting aside of a dedicated domain for adult oriented sites.
So, the big question now is this. Who are the bigger morons?
- Is it ICM Registry Inc., the primary backers of the .xx TLD, who seem to believe that a new domain will encourage the adult entertainment industry to clean up its act and adhere to new best-practices? (Although, in truth, they may not believe this at all, and may just want the registration fees associated with the new domains, which would make them entrepreneurs rather than morons, I think).
- Is it parents, and conservative organizations (like the Family Research Council), who apparently think that the creation of a .xxx domain would somehow make online pornography more accessible than it is today?
- Is it the U.S. government who, one again, have shown themselves to be purely reactionary, needing to show that they are doing something, even if that something is actually a big fat nothing?
Like it or not, online adult content is not going away any time soon. Being able to better control access to this material is an absolute necessity. As is ensuring that adult content is not unintentionally seen by those who don’t want to (or should not) see it. The amount of adult content in .com, .org. net, and any other TLDs will continue to grow, and blocking will remain just as necessary as before. As for the new domain, those seeking adult content will be able to find it just as easily as they do now, and those wanting to block it, well, those will be the easiest sites to block.
The bottom line is that a new TLD is not going to change anything one way or the other in the grand scheme of things.
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