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?

Re:Crazy

[thc69]

No more coffee with your paper? What, did you eat a caffeinated donut [slashdot.org]?

Re:Heh...

[dreddnott]

It's interesting to note that the "latest in animated gif technology" is 18 years old this year. I refer of course to the GIF89a specification. :)

Re:No, .XXX is bad

[SashaMan]

...and in some women walk around with no shits on like men. ... Do the American tax payers launch a multi billion dollar crusade to purge the internet of porn and bring our Christian morals to the internationally based Internet?

I'd just like to state that though I am non-Christian, I am thoroughly against people walking around with shits on.

Unless you're in to that stuff, sicko.

Quite Useful

[Flwyd]

With a .xxx TLD I'd finally be able to distinguish between fullofspunk.net as a motivational business website and fullofspunk.xxx as a site featuring pictures and videos of semen.

It will also allow us to distinguish between sites run by Landover Baptist Church, George W. Bush, and Bill Clinton.

Re:No, .XXX is bad

[jlarocco]

In some countries it is considered wrong for women to lift their veils so other men can see their faces, and in some women walk around with no shits on like men.

Assuming you meant "shirts," which country would that be? I think I may be going there soon for, um, business *cough*, and uh, I was just wondering if, um, coincidently, it may be the same country?

Re:Domain Names I Don't Want to See

[cashman73]

I'd rather not see hillaryclinton.xxx, either!

Re:Domain Names I Don't Want to See

[Anonymous Coward]

At least one good thing could come out of this:

goatse.xxx

Re:Why not?

[1u3hr]

And a TLD makes it easier to find, how is it a bad idea again?

What does a TLD have to do with finding porn, or anything else? Are you gong to make a list of words, append .xxx, and type them into your address bar: aardvark.xxx,.... zygote.xxx?

Re:Why not?

[iamacat]

If you can't come up with a more imaginative description of people exchanging zygote's, this domain is not for you.

Re:It won't die because you fools don't read RFCs

[Anonymous Coward]

As a parent, it will help me out when I am searching for pr0n so I will later have more time to spend with the kids.

Re:The proposal does require .coms to move

[prandal]

Aham. Planet Earth is not just the USA. There will be plenty of offshore .com porn sites to fill any void created.

And I'm kind of looking forward to slashdot.xxx - "Nudes for Nerds"

Re:Why not?

[Headcase88]

8,650

Append six or seven zeroes to that and we'll talk.

Re:Why not?

[Ralph Yarro]

What does a TLD have to do with finding porn, or anything else? Are you gong to make a list of words, append .xxx, and type them into your address bar: aardvark.xxx,.... zygote.xxx?

Greetings, I have come back in time from the year 2007 with exciting news. In my time we no longer have to type in random words to find domains under a particular tld, instead we have a powerful and strange technology called "Google".

For example, to get a list of .org domains we can just enter the following into our web browser:

http://www.google.co.uk/search?as_sitesearch=.org [google.co.uk]

to get a list of .museum domains:

http://www.google.co.uk/search?as_sitesearch=.muse um [google.co.uk]

To get a list of .xxx domains this would be:

http://www.google.co.uk/search?as_sitesearch=.xxx [google.co.uk]

"But", you say, "of what use is a mssive list of all domains? You could never click them all!" The truth is that we can go EVEN FURTHER and search for key words within sites in those domains, but I fear the culture shock from showing you this would be too much for you to bear.

This may all sound like science fiction in your primitive era but one day this technology will seem almost common place.

Re:Simple reason

[IL-CSIXTY4]

Besides, who else but a pornographer is going to use a domain such as that, regardless of what the TLD is?

"But where else are we supposed to advertise our party?," the head of the Center for Usable Media asked as he hung the piñata.