.XXXcapades

...A poor player
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage
And then is heard no more: it is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing.

-Shakespeare's MacBeth, Act V, Scene V


Today, after a few years and likely millions of dollars studying the situation, ICANN was about to approve a new Top-Level Domain (TLD) for adult websites: the ".xxx" suffix.

Now, I supported this measure. It warranted a greater level of control over a certain sector of the Internet that many find objectionable. While many pornography websites would not be using the .xxx, preferring to keep their .com; it did make it somewhat simpler: Block .xxx sites, and you're sure to block at least some pornography. It wasn't a cure all, but it was a step.

Of course, at the very last moment, suddenly people started to get up in arms. A virtual red-light district? A space exclusively for pornography? Heavens, no!

So, the governments of several countries, including my own beloved United States, plus at least one Christian group wasted a whole lot of people's time and money (and by people, i mean taxpayers), giving them a political circus and forcing a one month stop on ICANN's autonomy.

And to this, let me say "ARRRGH!!!"

Thank you, governments of United States, France, and Brazil! Thank you, Family Research Council! Thank you all! You have scored an utterly useless coup against pornography! Absolutely nothing will change in the online adult industry thanks to your heroic efforts! Plus, you've undermined the autonomy of ICANN, censoring the Internet and basically ruining the arguments I put forth to keep the Top Level Domains in the hands of the US and out of the international politics of the UN. Bravo! BRA-VO!


So let me see if I can boil this down enough for you folks as to why this was a bad idea:

1. The Internet will always have pornography. You may fear "legitimizing" it, but the truth is it's not going anywhere.
2. A virtual "Red-Light" district, while not a cure all, would have been helpful for programs that block adult content.
3. A .xxx domain name would have generated revenue for ICANN's coffers
4. By getting yourselves in a political tizzy and forcing ICANN to stand down, you've harmed the arguments for keeping the TLD's in US hands.
5. You wasted taxpayer time and money for a result that will ultimately have NO effect.

SO: Wasted time and money, destroyed potential revenue, no effect on porn, harmed Internet and ICANN freedom, harmed reasoning for keeping TLD's in US hands...

Wow, nice job. I'm off to bang my head off a wall!

Rock on, kids.