.xxx is an internet vampire

[gonzo]

The idea of a ".xxx" web suffix for porn sites is the internet's vampire: it seems nothing can kill it. Censors often oppose it because they believe anything that can be construed as legitimisation of pornography will hinder their efforts against it. Civil libertarians oppose it on grounds such as the threat of it being used to marginalise a wide range of material having to do with sexuality. Adult webmasters widely view it with suspicion, as anyone who has a ghettoisation scheme to "help" them usually isn't doing them a favour.

In fact, it is very difficult to find any lobbying group in favour of .xxx, with one notable exception. Namely, a company called ICM Registry, which would hand out .xxx site registrations, and would be given a money-making machine. The .xxx vampire has risen again because Icann, the organisation in charge of top-level domains, recently revisited the question of whether it should approve it as a "Voluntary Adult Top-Level Domain".

Too much of the punditry about this consists of repeating clichés about kids and red lights. But, leaving aside where one stands on issues of censorship, the .xxx domain is a bad idea purely from a business standpoint. To begin with, it provides no additional technical value. Labelling schemes have been around for years, and there already are systems that provide all .xxx could do. Putting such a label into a domain extension accomplishes nothing useful and gives the registry a monopoly.

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