Say NO to the .XXX TLD
To whom it may concern, I write to you as a mother, a webmaster and as a buyer of domains. As a buyer of domains, I CANNOT support the ICM Registy application to create & operate a .XXX TLD. A huge majority of the buyers of domains are against it. The belief that the largest or most influential people within the industry are 'for' it may or may not be true, however, there are numerous smaller folks that are AGAINST it. Figure, that someone as small as myself have over 300 domains, for every 'small' person, they still represent a large amount domains, please don't disregard that fact. We may not be large corporations - but we are numerous and we do need our voice to be heard as the buyers of domains. As a mother, I CANNOT support the ICQ Registry application to create & operate a .XXX TLD. It most certainly won't take long for children/teens to know where they can find 'all the porn' if it's mostly under the .XXX TLD. It WILL NOT prevent my child from typing WHATEVERPORN.XXX and finding a treasure trove of what I feel they should not be seeing. It WILL NOT protect my children from predators. If you want to stop predators, please - educate kids, talk to your kids, prepare them for real-world situations they may find themselves in. Prevention, knowing where they are at all times, knowing who their friends are online, being involved in your kids life is the best protection you can offer. The internet was not invented to be a live-in babysitter - parents should take responsibility for their children's well-being. Knowing where they surf is a huge step. Giving them a 'safe' area to surf is huge step - hence .KIDS could be the safe playground. What will prevent children/teens from seeing porn is a .KIDS TLD - this way, a board can go through a review process and rate the content - approve applications and we as parents can only authorize the use of .KIDS on our children's systems. As a webmaster, I CANNOT support the ICQ Registry application to create & operate a .XXX TLD. I see it as a way to make a few people richer with the noble disguise that it's meant to protect our children. What additional costs could possibly justify a 5 x PLUS increase in standard prices? It clearly does not protect us from childporn. In case people do not know this, the majority of the companies online affected by this law - say 99% - are legitimate, taxpaying corporations, employing and putting into the economy, a lot of money. They do not produce, they do not proliferate and they do not promote or protect child porn. The people that do produce, promote, proliferate child porn, are plain sick individuals - most are not located in the US and of those who are, due to their sick minds, they will most likely not be deterred by the proposed .XXX TLD. The foreign producers of childporn will see it as an opportunity to make more money since 'Adult Porn' is now 'segregated'. Some people who believe this is already a done deal say, rather than complain, figure out how to adapt. The US government will lose lots of corporate tax dollars because moving your company overseas will be the easiest way to adapt. In fact, a huge amount of business is lost once corporations move out of the country. From manufacturing, to printing, to shipping, to lawyers and accountants and banking alike - it trickles into every aspect of the economy. Once a corporation is out of the country, there is business & tax dollars that will not come back. Despite the sugarcoating of and over-simplified explication of the process - there are consequences that are not being clearly divulged. Again, I ask myself, 'Who benefits from this new TLD? ' Parents will not, webmasters will not, the government will not, the community will not. It does not stop, prevent or even deter childporn or predators. It merely benefits the person/people/entity financially at the cost of putting US webmasters, site owners, adult entertainment businesses at an unfair disadvantage to companies in other countries. I hope you consider all factors, causes/effects and see this application for what it truly is - a mere business opportunity serving no greater good and children will obviously not benefit one bit. Sincerely, Patrizia |