vote down .XXX

["Tom Hymes" <tomhymes@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

ICANN Board and Staff,

 

The Agreement's description of the sponsored TLD community is, as follows:


The TLD Community will consist of the responsible global online adult
entertainment community, generally defined as,

 

a.      Those individuals, businesses and entities that provide Adult
Entertainment intended for consenting adults or for other community members
(Providers);
b.      Organizations that represent Providers;
c.      Their vendors, service contract providers and contractors"

 

The Agreement specifically states that "Interested stakeholders, including
individuals and entities concerned about child safety, free expression and
data privacy. are not part of the sponsored community."

 

In light of this, how can ICANN claim that this sponsored application has
the backing of the sponsored community when almost every company of
established significance has stated its opposition to .XXX? Some of these
companies may have expressed support in the past but have since changed
their position publicly. I don't know about you, but I expect my most recent
claims to be the ones I am held to, and not ones I made at an earlier point
in time. I think common sense tells us that anyone would expect the same. 

 

Stuart Lawley has claimed to me in person that many of the companies that
say they are against .xxx are being duplicitous, by which he means to imply
that they have expressed support in private to ICANN or himself. But when
did they do this, and why would ICANN believe a statement made in private to
one made in public, especially if the private statement was made before the
public? In such a scenario, it would be a grave disservice to ICANN's
credibility to stake such a consequential decision as approving this
Agreement on CORRECTED claims of support. 

 

There is a great deal of anger and resentment about this application process
within the sponsored community, and I think for good reason. The sponsored
community is upset because it does not feel as if it is being listened to,
and in many ways it is right to feel that way. But ICANN still has it within
its power to abide by not only the spirit of its mandate, but the letter, by
actually listening to the sponsored community and once and for all turning
away this ill-conceived and ill-executed application. 

 

Tom Hymes