Why the .XXX Domain is a Bad Idea That Won't Die

Reader tqft tipped us to an opinion piece on the UK site The Guardian, which lays out the reasons why article writer Seth Finkelstein feels the .XXX domain is a terrible idea. You may recall that last year (being an election year and all), the concept of a triple-X ghetto was revived, considered, and then quashed all in the space of a few months. We also recently discussed the fact that the idea just won't die, as the company ICM Registry pushes ICANN to allow them to pass out the names by Summer. Finkelstein primarily argues that the new domain is a bad idea from a business point of view. Ignoring for a moment the issue that much of this content is already labeled, he sees this as primarily a means for ICM Registry to gain a monopoly on what is sure to be a hot-selling product. Speculators, pornographers, and above-board companies will all jump on the namespace in an effort to ensure that their domain is represented ... or not, as the case may be. Where do you fall on this issue? Would a .XXX domain be helpful for parents, or just a political salve/moneymaking scam?

Comments

It's a scam

[bmo]

It's a scam, just like Ralph Yarro's CP80. (from the Canopy/SCO scam to yet another. What, exactly, is in the water in Utah?)

Jeez. Let's repeat this again:

"THE INTERNET IS NOT A BABYSITTER"

--
BMO

The whole DNS is a scam

[saskboy]

I don't like how DNS is run at all. The business with phishing sites, and name stealing is bad enough, but if .xxx is bad because places might block it, why isn't .ca or .org bad?

Why don't we just have everything be .com and then we don't have to remember if our site is ebay.com or ebay.ca or ebay.xxx or ebay.org etc..