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Re .xxx TLD, New Appendix S
- To: xxx-icm-agreement@xxxxxxxxx
- Subject: Re .xxx TLD, New Appendix S
- From: J D Obenberger <obiwan@xxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Fri, 16 Feb 2007 17:11:45 -0600
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<font color="#000000">We are Free Speech lawyers in <st1:city
w:st="on"><st1:place
w:st="on">Chicago</st1:place></st1:city> with
considerable
experience in defending criminal obscenity cases and in providing
advice and
guidance to the ongoing operations of adult-oriented, erotic websites.
We write
on our own behalf rather than on behalf of any particular client,
though it is
my strong impression that the large majority of our clients embrace the
sentiments expressed in this letter. <br>
<br>
I have been honored to speak at every Internext (AVN Online) webmaster
gathering since January 2001. I was honored to present at each of the
two XBIZ forums, including at the show last week in Hollywood, CA. I
have spoken at dozens of Adult Internet webmaster gatherings throughout
the United States and in three other nations, recently in Budapest at
the Adult Online Europe show, and Qwebec [sic] Expo in Montreal. <br>
<br>
In these many, many discussions, and in numerous private discussions, I
have come to know, I think, the opinion of the Adult Internet as a
whole regarding .xxx. It is, in my view, not a very difficult matter to
ascertain. The very large majority of Adult Internet Webmasters and
organizations oppose, vocally and vociferously, the creation of this
domain, principally because they fear it will be made mandatory by US
legislation and open the door to censorship of the Adult Internet by
the United States Government. American law provides that those guilty
of the distribution of obscenity may be imprisoned for five years, and
the United States government has a history of prosecuting and
incarcerating the distributors of erotica under its obscenity laws.
Moreover, they feel that the proposed registration fees will unjustly
enrich ICM and its owners. Especially should the US Congress make the
use of the domain mandatory. I attended the recent Hollywood,
California XBIZ show. Contrary to the reports articulated at your
February 12 meeting, it was NOT "sparsely attended. It was jam-packed,
a loud crowd of several hundred webmasters. Mr. Lawley faced a
hostile audience that cheered comments from the floor in opposition to
his proposal, including my own comments. He deprecated the
representative nature of the audience, calling it a gathering of
webmasters from the Los Angeles area. The audience reaction was
immediate and vocal; in
point of fact, this was an international gathering with webmasters from
every part of the United States. Many of us traveled well over one
thousand miles to attend, including myself. A videotape of the event
was, I think, created by XBIZ. Look at it and judge for yourself what
those of us in, representing, or associated with the Adult Internet
think about the ICM proposal.<br>
<br>
It should be noted that, at least as Mr. </font><font
color="#000000">Lawley</font><font
color="#000000"> explained his recent
submission in Appendix S, it is wholly unclear that persons who
actually represent the "sponsoring group" will be selected for the
board that will govern it. When asked, he did not identify any protocol
for the selection of representatives from the sponsoring group.
Significantly, it is that board that will hire and fire any attorney
engaged to fight US legislation that would make the use of .xxx
mandatory. I fear, and I believe that many others fear, based on the
reaction when I confronted Mr. </font><font color="#000000">Lawley</font><font
color="#000000"> with this situation during the
forum, that the board will be stacked in such a manner as to give no
effective voice to the webmasters' interests, and that, inasmuch as it
appears natural that ICM will make more money if its domain is mandated
by law, the board selecting the attorney and controlling the
litigation, may well be conflicted between its loyalty to the financial
interests of ICM and the real interests of the adult web community.<br>
<br>
There simply is no significant public support for the .xxx domain in
the public dialog among those who live, breath, and earn their living
in the Adult Internet. There is a very quiet and seemingly small group
of webmasters who probably support the .xxx domain. They are quiet
because public expression would lead to widespread condemnation by the
large majority with the potential of economic harm to them now. It is
the suspicion of many that these comparatively few webmasters believe
that they may become enriched - or more enriched - by various stealthy
uses of the .xxx domain, including traffic from type-ins on
unregistered domains, with redirection to their own sites. The large
majority of the Adult Webmasters appear to be strongly antagonistic to
this idea, and this is so very obvious, that it is hard for me to
imagine a contrary view credibly being articulated.<br>
<br>
Mr. Lawley was asked at the XBIZ forum to name his
supporters in
the adult internet community, and he would not - or could not - name
any of them.<br>
<o:p> </o:p> <br>
<span style=""> </span>We write in opposition to the
creation
and
implementation of the proposed .xxx Top Level Domain.
These comments are addressed to the most recent rendition of Appendix S.<br>
<o:p> </o:p> <br>
<span style=""> </span>As we all know, the Internet has
now
begun
radically transforming the way the human race communicates and indeed
the way
that mankind looks at itself. It dramatically changes the way
individuals look
at this world and the people in it. It is an instrument of knowledge,
persuasion, and transformation of a dimension never seen before. <br>
<o:p> </o:p> <br>
<span style=""> </span>The Internet is the realm of
commerce
and
industry, science and technology, and the arts and humanities alike. As
an
information highway, it serves the mature and adult purposes of the
world and
it grows to serve them better. The technical means established for this
function must be designed with that mature and adult purpose in mind. <br>
<o:p> </o:p> <br>
Those who would aspire to make the Internet safe for
children should better consider how autobahns and interstate highways
might be
safe for children to play upon. Massive trucks, sometimes carrying
toxic
substances, barrel along these thoroughfares on a constant and
unremitting
basis, and that is frankly one of the chief purposes behind the
construction of
highways. To render the interstate highways safe for children at play
by
banning such traffic would deprive society of the adult purpose behind
the
road. The place for children to play is in designated and protected
places that
are not in the midst of adult traffic. <br>
<o:p> </o:p> <br>
<span style=""> </span>As the internet grows in
acceptance,
penetration, utility, and effectiveness - as it becomes more necessary
in the
affairs of the world - there are those parochial interests that wish to
control
the content and appeal of the information content. Some wish to do so
for
political reasons and others for social or moral reasons.<span style="">
</span>(In the end, they will all fail, for there is
no stopping ideas, arguments, and truth.) <br>
<o:p> </o:p> <br>
<span style=""> </span>Some have argued for the logical
segregation of erotic and/or sexually-oriented materials into a
separate
top-level domain. Some of them plot and plan for the censorship of such
material once it the domain has been created and its use made mandatory
by
local law.<span style=""> </span>The creation of such a TLD is
the necessary first step in such a plan and <i>this is where the
enterprise
should be halted</i>. The existence of such a domain facilitates
internet
filtering by moralistic governments with the aim of affecting the ideas
and
concepts their residents may see and the alternative moral schemes to
which
they are exposed.<span style=""> </span>The segregation of
thought, entertainment, and ideas because of content and appeal is a
dangerous
first step towards local and parochial control over the global
Internet. It
paves the way for TLDs aimed at religious and political content. <br>
<o:p> </o:p> <br>
<span style=""> </span>Finally, I must note that an
enormous
amount of money and time has been spent in the promotion of this
enterprise by
those who stand to profit from it.<span style=""> </span>Because
there is essentially no demand for this TLD from
within
the
adult Internet industry, it can only be surmised that their business
plan
includes cross-registrations from existing adult .com TLD registrants
in order
to protect against infringing use of a domain name in the .xxx TLD -
and the
potential gold mine of legally mandated use the TLD.<span style="">
</span>Both
of these income streams are created or
potentially created because of fear or coercion arising merely because
the
proposed TLD will exist. My own sense of ethics suggests that what the
promoters are foisting on ICANN amounts to a disreputable business
scheme of
creating profit from a thing of no legitimate value whatsoever to any
person. <br>
<br>
Regards,<br>
<br>
J D Obenberger <br>
</font> <br>
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