Opposition to .xxx domain

["Joe Fredricks" <joe.fredricks@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

I wish to state that I am very much against the .xxx TLD. I feel that it is a 
censorship waiting to happen and having read the documentation supplied on the 
topic, I am not convinced that the adult entertainment industry has enough 
representation within the framework that ICM has set up. 

As I travel the membership boards and meeting places of webmasters, it is clear 
to me that the vast major of the independent adult community are opposed to the 
idea, despite a few big players who claim to have the support of the industry 
in declaring support for it. I am convinced that these few powerhouses will 
suck up all of the adult entertainment industry input to the rules and 
regulations leaving the independent operators out in the cold.

Moreover, I am very concerned about the potential for abuse at the hands of the 
fickle winds of the political structure. We have already seen a couple of 
political mavericks begin to push for mandatory migration coupled with fines 
and jail time. This, despite the fact that the TLD is not even yet a reality. 
At this point that push seems dead, but I feel it is simply a matter of time 
before it re-emerges and potentially with a lot more support. The prospect of 
herding adult entertainment into one place WILL prove to be too good of a tool 
for the anti-porn establishment to pass up. At some point I can envision mass 
filtering at the ISP level to eliminate adult entertainment mandated by laws at 
not only the local and state levels, but perhaps even at the federal level. At 
very least, targeted taxation in the form of sins taxes and access regulations 
to extract even more revenues.

For those who believe that the .xxx TLD would serve as a additional filter 
capability for parents, I can only point to the fact that parental controls 
have been available to parents for nearly a decade. They are available on the 
televisions, and on the internet within the browsers. The vast majority of them 
haven't bothered to turn them on as of yet, and I see no indications that they 
are inclined to do so now. Historically, it has always been easier to create a 
"Safe Zone" rather than tame an element that is already entrenched "In the 
wild". Adult entertainment is truly in the wild and it makes far better sense 
to endorse a safe zone in the form of a .kids TLD.

Finally, the price proposals and registration requirements are absurd and again 
favor the well established. I have no doubt in my mind that the reason the 
proposal is being supported by the big players is due to their view that this 
.xxx TLD will be a means to reduced competition and by consequence heightened 
profits. Additionally, I fear ICM's motives in this are not as puritanical as 
they may seem, and instead border on profiteering, control, and cooperative 
governmental controls to free speech.

The potential for abuse of the .xxx TLD boggles the mind in the many ways it 
can be bent, regulated, filtered and molded to use against us. I firmly believe 
that we ALL will regret it should it come to pass and the very first casualties 
will be freedom of speech, and the independent operators.

For all these reasons that are foremost in my concerns as well as a several 
more lesser reasons, I must ask that ICANN deny the .xxx TLD due to the 
potential of raising far more problems than it is intended to solve. 

Joe Fredricks
Private Marketer