Up until now, we’ve let the emotional component surrounding
pornographic content cloud many of the solutions to the issue. It seems like
an xxx solution could help consenting adults identify, seek out and enjoy
pornographic content, at the same time it lets child advocates and adults who
chose not to see this content steer clear.
Identification, in this case, through an .XXX tld,
can bring openness and transparency to what has been called “the dark
side of the Internet”. The corollaries in the physical world exist as
well. Red light districts in the real world have been identified, and somewhat
naturally contained, for years. And, in the early 80’s parents who didn’t
want adult magazines sold at kids –eye level at the supermarket checkout
stand, lobbied for them to be belly-banded and ghettoized. The result? Those
who wanted them knew where to find them, those who didn’t weren’t forced
to confront them each time they wanted a container of milk. While we’ve
learned that there is no single silver bullet that’s going to solve the
problems of the Internet, we’ve also learned that giving people as much information
about the type of content they’re seeing or choosing not to see can only
be a good thing.
Robin Raskin
Former Editor in Chief, FamilyPC Magazine,
Technology Consultant
Editor of Family Circle’s Raising Teens and
Tweens,