GoFuckYourself.com - Adult Webmaster Forum - View Single Post - 1 MILLION DOLLAR QUESTION: WHO IS ICM Registry .XXX ?????

tony286 · 06-05-2005, 10:05 PM

The Shadow of Dot XXX
by Connor Young
http://www.ynot.com/index.php?name=P...ewprof ile&u=

Domain Names / Industry Viewpoints: Editorials
Date: Jun 03, 2005 - 03:15 PM
If it?s not one thing in this business then it?s another. This week webmasters learned that ICANN is expected to approve ICM Registry?s application for a ?sponsored? dot-xxx top-level domain (TLD). At first glance that might seem like a good thing. New domain names, the ability for parents to filter out adult sites, what?s not to like? There are, however, all kinds of problems with this new development that should make webmasters and other industry professionals stand up and take notice.

To give a little background, a company by the name of ICM Registry is behind the push to make dot-xxx a reality. ICM has been represented to the adult industry by Jason Hendeles, a businessman out of Canada, and Stuart Lawley, a businessman from the U.K. Neither have any prior connections with the adult entertainment industry that I can discover ? it appears both men merely saw a business opportunity in the selling of dot-xxx domain names to adult webmasters. The problem is, they had their hearts set on a ?sponsored? level domain name that they could control.

Sponsored-level domain names are different from open domain names like dot-com or dot-net, which anyone can register. An example of a sponsored TLD is the dot-edu realm normally reserved for schools and universities. You could not register a dot-edu domain name without meeting certain requirements to prove you qualify. The same would be true for dot-xxx if it were approved as a sponsored domain name ? those registering would need to agree to a certain set of rules and requirements, and failure to behave in the prescribed manner could result in the loss of one?s domain name.

Who sets these rules? That?s just one of many problems with dot-xxx, but we?ll get to that.

ICANN is the organization tasked with the authority to approve or deny applications for new TLDs, meaning ICM Registry would have to meet ICANN?s requirements before they could be put in charge of the dot-xxx TLD. Since sponsored domain names are supposed to be used for the good of a certain industry ? like the education industry or the travel industry ? ICM needed to show ICANN that they had the support of the adult industry as part of the process of getting dot-xxx approved. For years now, Hendeles and Lawley have been approaching adult industry leaders and asking for their support. They even paid former Cybererotica CEO Jonathan Silverstein a nice sum of money to help them convince the industry that dot-xxx was a good idea. Silverstein now says he sees why dot-xxx is dangerous. What's wrong with dot-xxx?

The problem is, it?s a horrible idea.

The negatives are too numerous to list, but let?s see which ones we can cover ? starting with claims that this new TLD will somehow protect children. Check out what the proponents are saying about dot-xxx:

"It will further help to protect kids," said John Morris, staff counsel at the Washington-based Center for Democracy and Technology.

?The application is aimed at creating an identifiable Web area that will help battle child pornography,? said Stuart Lawley of ICM Registry.

?In short, adults have every right to select whatever legal content they wish, but parents have an equal right to ensure their children are not placed at risk,? stated ICM?s white paper submitted to ICANN.

Other excerpts from the white paper:

?In short, adults have every right to choose what they want to see, but parents have an equal right to ensure their children are not placed at risk.?

?Existing generic domain names (.com et cetera) make it nearly impossible to identify adult content in advance, resulting in confusion and annoyance on the part of Internet users. Nothing is more galling than to stumble unawares into such a site. But, because every adult-content provider already does business as dot- something, a search can produce unfortunate results. Horror stories abound, and they aren't all urban legends; you -- or, even worse, your child -- can in fact look for information on horses and wind up with bestiality.?

06-05-2005, 10:05 PM
tony286 lurker Industry Role: Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: atlanta Posts: 57,021	The Shadow of Dot XXX by Connor Young http://www.ynot.com/index.php?name=P...ewprof ile&u= Domain Names / Industry Viewpoints: Editorials Date: Jun 03, 2005 - 03:15 PM If it?s not one thing in this business then it?s another. This week webmasters learned that ICANN is expected to approve ICM Registry?s application for a ?sponsored? dot-xxx top-level domain (TLD). At first glance that might seem like a good thing. New domain names, the ability for parents to filter out adult sites, what?s not to like? There are, however, all kinds of problems with this new development that should make webmasters and other industry professionals stand up and take notice. To give a little background, a company by the name of ICM Registry is behind the push to make dot-xxx a reality. ICM has been represented to the adult industry by Jason Hendeles, a businessman out of Canada, and Stuart Lawley, a businessman from the U.K. Neither have any prior connections with the adult entertainment industry that I can discover ? it appears both men merely saw a business opportunity in the selling of dot-xxx domain names to adult webmasters. The problem is, they had their hearts set on a ?sponsored? level domain name that they could control. Sponsored-level domain names are different from open domain names like dot-com or dot-net, which anyone can register. An example of a sponsored TLD is the dot-edu realm normally reserved for schools and universities. You could not register a dot-edu domain name without meeting certain requirements to prove you qualify. The same would be true for dot-xxx if it were approved as a sponsored domain name ? those registering would need to agree to a certain set of rules and requirements, and failure to behave in the prescribed manner could result in the loss of one?s domain name. Who sets these rules? That?s just one of many problems with dot-xxx, but we?ll get to that. ICANN is the organization tasked with the authority to approve or deny applications for new TLDs, meaning ICM Registry would have to meet ICANN?s requirements before they could be put in charge of the dot-xxx TLD. Since sponsored domain names are supposed to be used for the good of a certain industry ? like the education industry or the travel industry ? ICM needed to show ICANN that they had the support of the adult industry as part of the process of getting dot-xxx approved. For years now, Hendeles and Lawley have been approaching adult industry leaders and asking for their support. They even paid former Cybererotica CEO Jonathan Silverstein a nice sum of money to help them convince the industry that dot-xxx was a good idea. Silverstein now says he sees why dot-xxx is dangerous. What's wrong with dot-xxx? The problem is, it?s a horrible idea. The negatives are too numerous to list, but let?s see which ones we can cover ? starting with claims that this new TLD will somehow protect children. Check out what the proponents are saying about dot-xxx: "It will further help to protect kids," said John Morris, staff counsel at the Washington-based Center for Democracy and Technology. ?The application is aimed at creating an identifiable Web area that will help battle child pornography,? said Stuart Lawley of ICM Registry. ?In short, adults have every right to select whatever legal content they wish, but parents have an equal right to ensure their children are not placed at risk,? stated ICM?s white paper submitted to ICANN. Other excerpts from the white paper: ?In short, adults have every right to choose what they want to see, but parents have an equal right to ensure their children are not placed at risk.? ?Existing generic domain names (.com et cetera) make it nearly impossible to identify adult content in advance, resulting in confusion and annoyance on the part of Internet users. Nothing is more galling than to stumble unawares into such a site. But, because every adult-content provider already does business as dot- something, a search can produce unfortunate results. Horror stories abound, and they aren't all urban legends; you -- or, even worse, your child -- can in fact look for information on horses and wind up with bestiality.? Last edited by tony299; 06-05-2005 at 10:06 PM..