From CNN.com — It’s a big day for the porn industry.
Porn sites get their own domain: ‘.xxx’
By Stephanie Goldberg, Special to CNN
On Friday, ICANN, the not-for-profit corporation that coordinates the internet’s naming system, voted to allow the application of the controversial ".xxx" top-level domain name for sites that display adult content.
The domain, which would need further approval before going live on the internet, would be applied to adult entertainment sites just as ".com" is now.
The .xxx internet suffix, which was first proposed six years ago by ICM Registry, a group that sells domain names, "will provide a place online for adult entertainment providers and their service providers who want to be part of our voluntary self regulatory community," according to that company’s news release.
Adopting .xxx will be optional. However, some tech blogs speculate a push to make the domain mandatory for adult-only sites.
ICM Registry has already taken 110,000 pre-reservations for the domain, which could be available in early 2011, if not sooner, its news release states.
While the company says labeling adult content online "will allow for simple and effective filtering for those who wish to do so," not everyone is pleased with ICANN’s decision to approve the domain.
Some people involved in the industry are hesitant to accept the domain, "fearing it will lead to censorship, as it would be very easy to block the entire domain instead of individual sites," Rick Johnson of Portfolio.com wrote Thursday.
On the other hand, "some religious groups are against the creation of the domain, as it would lend more legitimacy to the adult entertainment industry," he wrote.
What do you think of the ".xxx" top-level domain? Is it necessary? Let us know with comments on this post.
It does sound like an easy censorship tactic, but it’s also, more or less, just another way for companies like Go Daddy and Network Solutions to make money. Everyone will be scrambling to register their domain name.
“some religious groups are against the creation of the domain, as it would lend more legitimacy to the adult entertainment industry.” More legitimacy? It’s already a legitimate industry. That’s just sounds dumb. lol
I am 100% against this not only because of the unusual restrictions the owners want to place on anyone who wants to use a .xxx domain but also because it forces us into a little hole in the corner, as if we are something bad or different from normal businesses who get to use real domains like dot coms.
I’m sorry but I am a real business and I’m not giving up my dot com without a fight and that fight includes not using a XXX domain name for anything more than a marketing stunt.
Well, on one hand it would make software programs that protect children from adult material easier to create – putting a lock on an entire domain extension rather than a program having to consistently scan for key words totally cuts down on consuming system resources once installed on a basic home computer – regardless of the OS.
On the otherhand, I’m fairly certain these .xxx extensions will be offered at an inflated rate which wouldn’t be fair. I also wonder what the grace period would be for people to reroute their sites or update their DNS settings to their newly purchased .xxx extension domains.
I’d also wonder how in the world all the companies that have been actively marketing their .com or .net or .tv for years would be able to notify all of their clients of the change without losing money – I guess they could just forward all of their current domains to their new .xxx extension and then after a year or so give up the old address, but still – it seems a bit like someone or a group of people suddenly tightening the noose around the neck of the once “land of the free” internet.
What I really wonder about is what the fines will be for people who don’t comply if somehow it becomes mandatory for all adult material to be placed under .xxx – also how will “adult” material be defined – hardcore, softcore, all solos, or what?
There is a bigger issue here then .xxx extension. A week ago I stumbled on an article that popped on my google news that focused on a bill being introduced to make internet a utility in the U.S. Now I am not sure how true this article was but if it is true I am against. I love having internet but I can live without it. My theory is this new extension is the start of making this bill happen.
Like everything else that is new,it’s the wild West but that last only for so long.The party is over and the Internet will becomes more and more in the clutches of governments.