Reasons why .XXX TLD is a bad idea

["rawalex" <rawalex@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Here is the non-satirical version:

The .XXX TLD will create domain speculation, duplication, and squatting
issues.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
--
There are literally millions of adult domains on the internet already.  Many
additional TLDs including country TLDs and things like .info have been
overwhelmed with adult names.  Many seek these additional TLDs to attempt to
profit from the names of existing .COM domains, and to mislead the public,
search engines, and such.  Confusion between the legitimacy of porn.com and
porn.xxx would create new and overwhelming commercial issues for those who
have create a brand on their .com domains, and lead to more and more domain
disputes to be handled by authorities.  It would also lead to another round
of trademark disputes and other issues that could potentially overload the
dispute ssytems.

 

 

A .XXX extension will make it even easier for children to find porn

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
--


When kids see the .XXX extension in a search result, their absent parents,
normal curiosity, peer pressure, and ragins hormones will have them clicking
on the links faster than ever.  They could type anything.xxx into the
address bar of their browsers and be 100% sute to get a porn site.  I can
picture young teenagers in their room alone with their computers, finding
new porn at every turn without any effort required, and with 100% certainty
of hitting porn every try.

 

 

.XXX will stop the porn .COM websites when cows fly

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
--


Simplistic reverse lookups will not stop porn from appearing on .com or any
other TLD.  If the filter is by IP address, then you can be certain that
adult webmasters will not have the .xxx and .com domains on the same IP.
Further, there is no mechanism or legal process to move porn off of any tld,
and any modification to the rules of the .COM TLD would surely meet with
very strong resistance and reactions from those people who have invested
heavily in .COM domains.

 

The purchase of .XXX domains will bring a great profit to the TLD operator

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
--


While the TLD operator may potentially offer some money to "protect the
children", the net effects of this new TLD would nothing more than a large
and immediate windfall profit, by attempting to get the .xxx domain mandated
and then overcharging for the rights to register these domains.  Further, it
has been made clear that many of the prefered "best" domains would not be
sold on a first come first served basis, but rather in an auction type
situation which could bring literally tens of millions of dollars to the TLD
operator.  It is a very unnatural process where adult site operators would
be effectively force at electronic gunpoint to scrap it out for the .xxx
versions of the .com domains they own, promote, and market.  

 

.XXX will just add to the confusion

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
--


Everyone knows that the minute .XXX gets approved that huge domain
speculation will occur, and not a single .COM adult site will disappear
unless made the law of every land using the internet.  If the US (example)
requires it, then all those .COM domains will suddenly be owned in Canada or
Peru or some other country, and will continue to offer porn.  .XXX will do
nothing but create millions more adult oriented domain names.  US based free
speech advocates would likely take this move to court, and this whole
process could be tied up for years.

There is no mechanism to force adult material onto a specific TLD, in the
same manner that .org and country TLDs have little or no control over the
content on those TLDs.  Creating .XXX will not magically make porn move away
from it's existing domain base, but rather will create more domains
displaying porn as a percentage of the total domains on the internet.

 



Better to tax the money making pornographers to pay for the .XXX domains
than have non-porn websites pay to have a .KIDS TLD
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
--

Since porn websites are making so much money, they should be the one to pay
for the protection measures that .XXX afford.

.KIDS would certainly be much more effective in its whitelisting approach,
that only approved kid-friendly sites would get a .KIDS extension.

But why tax the websites who already paid for their .COM domain names for
the sins of the pornographers? The Robin Hood strategy of financing child
protection is exactly what Senator Lincoln and other similar porn tax bills
have proposed.

 

 

 


.XXX won't Child Porn websites because child porn is already illegal.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
--



Child porn creators and distributors wouldn't let a silly little thing like
a TLD designation stop them from distributing their sick products.  Very
little of the CP in the world is actually on a domain anyway, most of it
appears to be traded in chat rooms, through private websites, and email.
There is nothing to say that they wouldn't register a .XXX domain, put an
acceptable front page on the site, and bury child porn inside protected
directories.  A TLD does nothing to stop child porn. 

Child porn is illegal already.  TLD changes isn't going to stop a single
child from being abused.

 

 


.XXX will move porn into a ghetto

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
--


AG Gonzales has already admitted that some adult material is protected
speech.  A TLD will do nothing to legitimize the already legit adult
industry, but if every porn site went onto a .XXX domain, a porn ghetto
would be created.  It would take little or no effort for anti-porn crusaders
to force some ISPs and common carriers to block .XXX domains, which would
seriously impede free speech and in fact removed legitimacy from the adult
industry.  

Don't think so?  It would just take a group of strongly christian investors
to take a controlling stake in a major common carrier, and they could use
their financial influence to force that carrier to stop handling .XXX
traffic.  Worse, using misleading routing information, they could create
apparent routes that would make it appear that a user could connect to the
site, but in the end discarding all of the traffic or blocking the site.

Putting all the porn in one place makes it very, very easy for these groups
to take aim and disrupt legal and protected free speech. 

 

 

 

 


Conclusion

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------


There are few reasons why .XXX is a good thing. There's little here for
anyone except the anti-porn groups and the companies who seek to profit from
this new TLD.  You cannot ignore the adult webmasters, this TLD will greatly
limit their free speech and affect their businesses in many ways.   

You cannot ignore the fact that one of the ICANN requirements for a TLD is
that it must represent the wishes of the community, to have built up
constituency over the group that the TLD presides over.

ICANN is not in the business of deciding what is acceptable and not
acceptable content on the internet.  That is an issue of law in the
individual countries.  ICANN should not even consider being the thought
police, giving in to the anti-porn crusaders who seek to limit free speech
where the US courts have already ruled nothing can be done.  It is the
equivilant of using zoning bylaws to limit adult businesses, running all the
porn out of town on a rail to satisfy a small puritanical group that cannot
accept the rulings of the top court of the US on the matter.

Interestingly, the conclusion is the same:

.XXX SHOULD NOT BE APPROVED.