1 MILLION DOLLAR QUESTION: WHO IS ICM Registry .XXX ?????

[MikeHawk]

This is the question of the day:

I keep hearing that what the ICM Registry/.XXX is doing is for the good and protection of children, a super noble cause. Well we kind of know who this Jason Hendeles guy is sort of. I really dont know him, and is he in the adult industry or has he ever been. Why i ask that, is cause he is claiming to represent our industry. You would think such a great cause and such a great thing, we would at least get to know who is part of this group?

Ok, so here is another interesting point of the .xxx deal: Why would some of these people who belong to this group have to "buy" there votes, and hide in the dark? Hey stand up and tell us who you are, let us know how great the .XXX deal is going to be, show us what stand up guys you really are.

That will never happen cause you are weak, and will not be able to look anyone in the industry in the face again if you plan goes thru. I know there is a very large group that will file suite to "crack open" your company, so all of us on the internet can see who you are.

I bring all this up cause these are questions that many many people have asked me and its something that is on my mind.

[seeric]

they are my bitches

[Pipecrew]

pipecrewregistry.com is.

[cyber_ninja]

i admit it,i dont know

[MikeHawk]

Originally Posted by A1R3K

they are my bitches

Hey Mr. DJ...hope you are all ready to go deep White Trash style...

[baddog]

Didn't he start the adult side of the Internet after Gore launched it?

[MikeHawk]

Originally Posted by baddog

Didn't he start the adult side of the Internet after Gore launched it?

[ytcracker]

the internet is for porn

[NTSS]

Do I get a chance to win 1Mill if I answer or what?

[xlogger]

f U C K . X X X

[azguy]

People need to stop being so damn jealous. Do you think Monster.com is mad at the group behind .jobs? Do you think Expedia hates whoever came up with .travel (Tralliance Corporation)? Do you think Motorola should sue Nokia, Vodafone, and Microsoft for proposing .mobi?

God damn it grow up people. The group behind .xxx is a bunch of smart business men. While you were playing with tiny TGPs, they thought about this. Con artists? LOL. Get over it. Are they in it for the money? Yes. Are you in the porn industry for the money? You better be if you want a good future for your kids. Instead of complaining - ADJUST your business to a new upcoming environment.

[Major (Tom)]

anyway we can supeona the minutes of these corps? asacp, icm ect etc..
this will help us get to the bottom of things for sure.

Duke

[Major (Tom)]

Originally Posted by azguy

People need to stop being so damn jealous. Do you think Monster.com is mad at the group behind .jobs? Do you think Expedia hates whoever came up with .travel (Tralliance Corporation)? Do you think Motorola should sue Nokia, Vodafone, and Microsoft for proposing .mobi?

God damn it grow up people. The group behind .xxx is a bunch of smart business men. While you were playing with tiny TGPs, they thought about this. Con artists? LOL. Get over it. Are they in it for the money? Yes. Are you in the porn industry for the money? You better be if you want a good future for your kids. Instead of complaining - ADJUST your business to a new upcoming environment.

big difference dude.. .jobs never inteded to be the new net nanny or have people lobby for it who will benefit from it monetarilly.


Duke

[azguy]

Originally Posted by DukeSkywalker

big difference dude.. .jobs never inteded to be the new net nanny or have people lobby for it who will benefit from it monetarilly.


Duke

Only the porn people are so paranoid.

Sure, Tralliance Corporation (operator of .travel) has formed the non-profit The Travel Partnership Corporation. Does this mean the CEO makes no money? Do you think people won't fight for freevacation.travel? Oh wait, or you guys think freevacation.com must own it just because? .XXX is no different. Just because the folks from ICM Registry don't hang out on GFY doesn't mean they're not in the industry. If it wasn't them, it'd have been someone else.

[seeric]

Originally Posted by MikeHawk

Hey Mr. DJ...hope you are all ready to go deep White Trash style...

i am white trash baby!

my fam is coming




ok, they are on the plane baby.

[Mr.Fiction]

Originally Posted by azguy

People need to stop being so damn jealous.

Are you serious or trolling? The other groups you mention are not making a profit at the expense of the free speech rights of all online users. They are also not threatening to bring down the entire industries which they are supposed to be serving.

Your comparisons are ridiculous - either because you haven't thought about what you're writing or because you have some interest in defending the people pushing .xxx. Either way, you're wrong.

This is not just about competition or business, this is a lot bigger than that.

If you put short term money ahead of your civil liberties and the long term viability of an entire industry, that's your problem, but don't expect others to be as short sighted as you are.

[DateDoc]

www.icmregistry.com
Stuart Lawley, Chairman & President
Stuart Duncan, CEO
Jason Hendeles, Vice President
Len Bayles, CTO

[pornguy]

I have never heard of the guy. He must be a real leader in the industry.

[xlogger]

Tell us noobs that dont know much about this.

What are they proposing here. All of us give up our .com that we have worked so hard for and switch over .xxx just because they want $. Am i right or wrong?

[azguy]

Originally Posted by Mr.Fiction

Are you serious or trolling? The other groups you mention are not making a profit at the expense of the free speech rights of all online users. They are also not threatening to bring down the entire industries which they are supposed to be serving.

Your comparisons are ridiculous - either because you haven't thought about what you're writing or because you have some interest in defending the people pushing .xxx. Either way, you're wrong.

This is not just about competition or business, this is a lot bigger than that.

If you put short term money ahead of your civil liberties and the long term viability of an entire industry, that's your problem, but don't expect others to be as short sighted as you are.

Of course I am serious. I'm sick of these lame "oh .xxx is so bad, fuck them" threads. See, the moment someone disagrees with you it must be because they are being paid by ICM or otherwise affiliated with them? Paranoia galore.

I know that .xxx will have bad implications on some adult businesses, especially since many domains can become worthless over night and you may not get your existing .com in the .xxx version. I myself will be affected by this as I own some pretty damn good ones. But instead of crying here, you can do something about it. If you believe the threat is imminent - get a trademark your own favorite .xxx names. It takes 5 minutes and a few hundred dollars. This is the cost of doing business, especially in such a volatile industry.

Don't let your fears take over your business sense. If it wasn't ICM Registry, it would have been some other venture. Even if a more stable coalition were behind .xxx, it would have still existed eventually, which means the government and ISPs could still enforce stricter regulations or entirely block them. So it DOES NOT MAKE A FUCKING DIFFERENCE. Deal with the implications and move on. It happens in the [real] business world every day.

[azguy]

Originally Posted by pornguy

I have never heard of the guy. He must be a real leader in the industry.

And say Lensman was behind .xxx, would that change the fact that the government would then have the ability to control porn much easier? Or that ISPs could block .xxx sites? Nope. Choose your battles folks. It's the government that's after us, not ICM.

[2HousePlague]

I agree, let's get all these questions answered.

But the fact that people we "don't know" yet are hovering around our business, and seem to be motivated by FAT CASH should neither surprise us nor appall us. If you think we need allies from outside the industry to survive -- and you may not, but if you think we do -- do you expect that those allies will be motivated by ideology alone?

Limits, in one form or other, are GOING TO BE imposed -- there is simply no denying that.

When I say the following I am NOT speaking specifically about the .XXX issue -- but in GENERAL...

We are in the extraordinarily unique position of being an industry with both the enormous profitability of a "Sin Biz", and a political / ideological ARGUMENT for why we should be allowed to exist. Alcohol didn't have that. Gambling didn't have that.

Both of those industries faced crisis, and both emerged from crisis, having configured themselves for long-term, legal prosperity. How did they do it? They did it by forging (and accepting) alliances with government and with other industries with which they could partner to significant mutual benefit.

Allowing other people we have never heard of to make some money (at least partly) on our backs is probably not something we're going to be able to avoid. Plus it seems a little hypocritical that we should cry First Amendent whenever we feel "censored", then act suspicious of anybody who wants to throw us a rope if we pay them for it --



j-

[azguy]

Originally Posted by 2HousePlague

But the fact that people we "don't know" yet are hovering around our business, and seem to be motivated by FAT CASH should neither surprise us nor appall us. If you think we need allies from outside the industry to survive -- and you may not, but if you think we do -- do you expect that those allies will be motivated by ideology alone?

The industry (whatever circle of friends you consider to be called the industry) had enough time (FIVE years) to fight the group behind .xxx. Why ask all those questions NOW? I guess new cars are more important than future financial stability for some.

[J$tyle$]

Originally Posted by 2HousePlague

I agree, let's get all these questions answered.

But the fact that people we "don't know" yet are hovering around our business, and seem to be motivated by FAT CASH should neither surprise us nor appall us. If you think we need allies from outside the industry to survive -- and you may not, but if you think we do -- do you expect that those allies will be motivated by ideology alone?

Limits, in one form or other, are GOING TO BE imposed -- there is simply no denying that.

When I say the following I am NOT speaking specifically about the .XXX issue -- but in GENERAL...

We are in the extraordinarily unique position of being an industry with both the enormous profitability of a "Sin Biz", and a political / ideological ARGUMENT for why we should be allowed to exist. Alcohol didn't have that. Gambling didn't have that.

Both of those industries faced crisis, and both emerged from crisis, having configured themselves for long-term, legal prosperity. How did they do it? They did it by forging (and accepting) alliances with government and with other industries with which they could partner to significant mutual benefit.

Allowing other people we have never heard of to make some money (at least partly) on our backs is probably not something we're going to be able to avoid. Plus it seems a little hypocritical that we should cry First Amendent whenever we feel "censored", then act suspicious of anybody who wants to throw us a rope if we pay them for it --



j-

Intellegent post, Jack.

Porn ain't going anywhere.

and IMHO, .XXX isn't going to put everyone out of business - I'm more concerned with the implications 2257 has over the next 18 days.

[$pikes]

Originally Posted by J$tyle$

Intellegent post, Jack.

Porn ain't going anywhere.

and IMHO, .XXX isn't going to put everyone out of business - I'm more concerned with the implications 2257 has over the next 18 days.

Jay... I will remind you of this when some sniper takes TheContentStore.xxx out from under you. You'll be fully 2257 compliant with no domain to use. I hope you've trademarked. Which brings me to the sex.com video you provided to Donovan. Do you want to go thru all the legal expenses and lost sleep over litigation for your domain? I don't. YOU are a major player in the biz with more history than most of us. Many of us look up to you and listen to your advice but, I have to disagree here. 2257 is manageable.. sux ass and I hate it, but it's manageable for most of us. Loosing a shot at registering our .xxx versions of our sites because we all know the choice ones will be handed out in these backroom deals and/or then one day soon .xxx censored by some ISPs or Visa, is NOT manageable.

I'll take having our 9-5 office with a filing cabinet of 2257 records over that anyday.

I love you.. you know this... Now lets drink some Purple Jesus at the show next week and REALLY talk this over. Maybe I'm "missing it" and need it explained better.

[Steen2]

.xxx is represented in the domain industry. Attend the conferences and you will be filled in.

[stevo]

Alot of interesting information in google when you type that name.

Jason Hendeles is Founder/CEO of ATech Registrars
Jason Hendeles is Founder/CEO of ICM Registry Inc

According to this article:
http://www.dnso.org/clubpublic/ga/Arc12/msg00033.html
He was the owner of adult.info
I just quickly read it, but from what i got out of it - he is getting first dibs on all the good xxx domains!

[Doctor Dre]

Originally Posted by azguy

Only the porn people are so paranoid.

Sure, Tralliance Corporation (operator of .travel) has formed the non-profit The Travel Partnership Corporation. Does this mean the CEO makes no money? Do you think people won't fight for freevacation.travel? Oh wait, or you guys think freevacation.com must own it just because? .XXX is no different. Just because the folks from ICM Registry don't hang out on GFY doesn't mean they're not in the industry. If it wasn't them, it'd have been someone else.

Cauz only the people in porn have so many people arround them not doing stuff right .

[J$tyle$]

Originally Posted by $pikes

Jay... I will remind you of this when some sniper takes TheContentStore.xxx out from under you. You'll be fully 2257 compliant with no domain to use. I hope you've trademarked. Which brings me to the sex.com video you provided to Donovan. Do you want to go thru all the legal expenses and lost sleep over litigation for your domain? I don't. YOU are a major player in the biz with more history than most of us. Many of us look up to you and listen to your advice but, I have to disagree here. 2257 is manageable.. sux ass and I hate it, but it's manageable for most of us. Loosing a shot at registering our .xxx versions of our sites because we all know the choice ones will be handed out in these backroom deals and/or then one day soon .xxx censored by some ISPs or Visa, is NOT manageable.

I'll take having our 9-5 office with a filing cabinet of 2257 records over that anyday.

I love you.. you know this... Now lets drink some Purple Jesus at the show next week and REALLY talk this over. Maybe I'm "missing it" and need it explained better.

$pikes,

You know I have massive respect for and love for you and AND your views. You're making a lot of assumptions about how this .xxx thing is going to be handled, bro - and I doubt very highly that ANY domain is going to be handed out to anyone in a backroom deal - too many eyes watching ... industry wide, as well as ICANN and MANY OTHERS!

You're smart enough to know that some of the opposition ARE opposition NOW because they coudn't guarantee they were going to get THEIR's in a backroom deal.



And yes, because of this and numerous other reasons it's mandatory to trademark domain names I we ALL conduct business under. However, I don't believe that it can or will be mandated that we give up .coms and be required to only do business on .xxx's.

I explained why last night to Mike

The argument that Visa and ISP's will "censor" .XXX is more viable, yet will reign down a shit storm of lawsuits and create other opportunities for alternative payment systems and ISP's that will vigorously court adult business. SURFERS THAT WANT PORN WILL GET PORN! If things go the way you believe, we'll see more qualified customers and waste less bandwidth.

You say that 2257 is managable and I agree. I also believe that .xxx will be managable too.

Although they BOTH may make conducting business more difficult initially, neither will shut it down. Savy business people will make the adjustments necessary to continue on - and others will simply give up. The pie gets bigger. The strong will survive. It's the law of the jungle.

[orign8or]

@$60 per Domain its gonna be alot of pie.

[stevo]

http://www.icann.org/tlds/kids3/HTML/Volume_2.html

The Sunrise Program
ICM Registry will permit the following organizations the ability to pre-register domain names prior to the new top-level domain going live:
-Qualified trademark owners; and
-Qualified Adult-Content Providers who currently operate Web Sites.

How does one qualify as an Adult-Content Provider? Therefor Trademark not necessarily needed for preregistration?

[Big Red Machine]

60 bucks a pop thats HighWay Robbery. Plus this will make it soo easy for ISP's to block all xxx's

[$pikes]

Originally Posted by J$tyle$

$pikes,

You know I have massive respect for and love for you and AND your views. You're making a lot of assumptions about how this .xxx thing is going to be handled, bro - and I doubt very highly that ANY domain is going to be handed out to anyone in a backroom deal - too many eyes watching ... industry wide, as well as ICANN and MANY OTHERS!

You're smart enough to know that some of the opposition ARE opposition NOW because they coudn't guarantee they were going to get THEIR's in a backroom deal.



And yes, because of this and numerous other reasons it's mandatory to trademark domain names I we ALL conduct business under. However, I don't believe that it can or will be mandated that we give up .coms and be required to only do business on .xxx's.

I explained why last night to Mike

Very good points man... maybe I'm out of the loop. I'll talk to Mike tonight.

[orign8or]

"In addition, adult content leaders fully back the establishment of these TLD?s. The twin TLD?s provide a powerful solution to the challenging debate that has circled the content issues."


Thats a riot.

[tradermcduck]

From my point of view the best strategy against .XXX is to add as many other 'adult domains' like .PORN .SEX etc. I know it is not easy to convince ICANN but with the argument 'protect the children' it should be possible...

[taibo]

NEGRODAMUS should know

[J$tyle$]

Originally Posted by $pikes

Very good points man... maybe I'm out of the loop. I'll talk to Mike tonight.

... and I don't think you're out of the loop at all - there are a lot of assumptions and speculation. Some based on logic and some - (not pertaining to your statements) not so much.

[polish_aristocrat]

Originally Posted by stevo

http://www.icann.org/tlds/kids3/HTML/Volume_2.html

The Sunrise Program
ICM Registry will permit the following organizations the ability to pre-register domain names prior to the new top-level domain going live:
-Qualified trademark owners; and
-Qualified Adult-Content Providers who currently operate Web Sites.

How does one qualify as an Adult-Content Provider? Therefor Trademark not necessarily needed for preregistration?

interesting...

[polish_aristocrat]

Originally Posted by azguy

If you believe the threat is imminent - get a trademark your own favorite .xxx names.

I've read that bit takes about 1 year.... and it's completely not fair that I trademark f.e porno.xxx so that I will get in nin the sunrise period and then I can laugh in the face of all the honest webmasters who were waiting for the first minutes of registration.

[azguy]

Originally Posted by stevo

Alot of interesting information in google when you type that name.

Jason Hendeles is Founder/CEO of ATech Registrars
Jason Hendeles is Founder/CEO of ICM Registry Inc

According to this article:
http://www.dnso.org/clubpublic/ga/Arc12/msg00033.html
He was the owner of adult.info
I just quickly read it, but from what i got out of it - he is getting first dibs on all the good xxx domains!

They may have a policy by which Adult.com will be entitled for "HardcorePartying.xxx" thanks to their existing brand, but I doubt owners of generic domains will get their hands on the equivalent .xxx version. Time will tell.

[xXxtreme2005]

Originally Posted by taibo

NEGRODAMUS should know

I alomost spit out my soda!

[azguy]

Originally Posted by polish_aristocrat

I've read that bit takes about 1 year.... and it's completely not fair that I trademark f.e porno.xxx so that I will get in nin the sunrise period and then I can laugh in the face of all the honest webmasters who were waiting for the first minutes of registration.

Federal laws are not always fair, but the 'players' can use them for their benefit instead of crying all over the boards. Right now people can file for trademarks for their favorite .xxx names. Sure it will cost some money, but like I said, this is the cost of doing business in an ever-changing environment.

[polish_aristocrat]

Originally Posted by azguy

Federal laws are not always fair, but the 'players' can use them for their benefit instead of crying all over the boards. Right now people can file for trademarks for their favorite .xxx names. Sure it will cost some money, but like I said, this is the cost of doing business in an ever-changing environment.

and how much does it take when i file now for a trademark? 1 year till i get it?

http://www.marcaria.com/site_en/web/...sp?country=USA

it will be too late anyway


and why does it have to be an US trademark? this isnt a country code domain, .xxx will be an international domain. so i could trademark pussy.xxx in switzerland as well ( not that i know their laws, just an example )

[polish_aristocrat]

and what if f.e i trademark adult.xxx ?

who will receive adult.xxx then?

I - because of the silly trademark or Lensman because he owns adult.com and that is a brand

speaking of brands, who will decide if a site is enough branded so that they can get the .xxx equivalent of their .com domain?

[azguy]

Originally Posted by polish_aristocrat

and what if f.e i trademark adult.xxx ?

who will receive adult.xxx then?

I - because of the silly trademark or Lensman because he owns adult.com and that is a brand

IMHO - and again, I'm not a lawyer - you will have better chances for getting adult.xxx than Lensman will. It will be interesting to see how it all plays out in the end.

Check out sex.com and look all the way in the buttom. Kremen owns those three trademarks already and is making use of them in public. It won't be too difficult for him to win those .xxx names when the time comes, IMHO.

Originally Posted by polish_aristocrat

speaking of brands, who will decide if a site is enough branded so that they can get the .xxx equivalent of their .com domain?

I don't know who. Some committee I guess.

Yes, adult.com is a brand. Again: ADULT.COM is a brand, nothing else. Does that mean they should also own adult.jobs or adult.mobi? Instead of sitting and hoping for some special considerations, I'd suggest that these big players spend the extra few hundred dollars on obtaining trademarks TODAY.

[MikeHawk]

We are Fucked............................................ ........maybe....

[tony286]

You also forget the part ,where a nonprofit board of god knows who will be making the rules you have to follow to have a .xxx domain. To say we are just crying is stupid and very very short sighted. To think we can not be pushed out of business is the thinking of a fool.

[tony286]

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.?

[tony286]

Wow, sounds like dot-xxx is that magic pill we were all looking for, doesn?t it? I completely agree that parents have the right to be concerned about what their children access on the internet. I also agree it?s unfortunate when children come into contact with adult entertainment. Problem is, dot-xxx does nothing, I repeat, nothing to address these problems. There is no conceivable scenario by which all adult content would suddenly move to dot-xxx domains, meaning any suggestion that dot-xxx protects children is absurd, misleading and even dishonest.

Think about it. You have an 8 year-old and you?re concerned about your child running into online porn. Dot-xxx comes out, and you instruct your browser of choice to block access to dot-xxx domain names. Do you now feel comfortable to send your kid out onto the internet knowing he won?t come into contact with adult entertainment? Of course you don?t. Dot-xxx has done nothing for you as a parent, and any parent who believes the rhetoric coming from ICM Registry is being lulled into a false sense of security. I don?t think anybody without a financial stake in dot-xxx domains would disagree that filtering software is a far more effective tool for keeping children away from inappropriate content; not to mention, a little active parenting wouldn't hurt either.

So dot-xxx does nothing to protect children, that much is clear. So what?s the advantage then? Frankly, I?m not sure I see one. But I do see a whole lot of problems.

According to ICM Registry, steps will be taken to assure that trademark holders are protected. In other words, YNOT has little to worry of someone else getting ynot.xxx since we hold a trademark. LightspeedCash would also be protected? again, trademarked property. But what happens when you have a generic domain name like bondage.com or adult.com? Who gets bondage.xxx and adult.xxx? That?s not so clear.

The fear is that deals have already been made that will pre-determine who gets the most lucrative generic domain names, but that?s purely a matter of speculation. What we do know, however, is that ICM Registry is not guaranteeing the owners of generic dot-com domain names that they will have first crack at the dot-xxx counterparts. Meaning someone who spent the last 10 years building up bondage.com, for example, could suddenly start losing money to whoever gets bondage.xxx. Few are expecting companies to take that kind of loss lightly, and industry squabbling and an endless string of lawsuits will almost certainly be the result.

Few ?smaller? webmasters are holding out any hope that they might score a prime new piece of real estate, and those that do purchase a dot-xxx domain name might find the price a little steeper than normal ? the expected price has been reported at anywhere from $60 to $75 per dot-xxx domain. Ouch! But hey, when you have complete control over a TLD as valuable as dot-xxx you might as well use that power to your financial benefit, right? Get out those wallets, webmasters.

What?s especially frustrating is that dot-xxx domain names offer nothing of value to webmasters, yet many will feel compelled to purchase one just to protect their virtual space. If you have bluetitties.com and you?re doing well, do you risk passing on bluetitties.xxx so that someone else might profit off your work? ICM stands to make a fortune selling dot-xxx domains that are bought not out of need but rather out of a defensive stance. Why should they get rich offering nothing of value? Good question.

We have all heard a lot about how ICM plans to donate a portion of domain name sales to various child protection groups, and that certainly makes them sound like first class citizens, doesn?t it? How generous of them to donate a small portion of the adult industry?s money that was generated from selling us all something that we really don?t need. Wouldn?t it just make more sense for the industry to donate all the money straight to child protection groups, rather than filtering it through ICM Registry so that only a small percentage ends up in the hands of the groups that need it? I thought the industry had been doing a more-than-generous job supporting ASACP. So now ICM Registry is to get the credit for supporting the group that we started and we funded, and for supporting it with our money? You have to love that ironic little scenario.

To this point I?ve talked about the various annoyances surrounding any dot-xxx TLD, but I haven?t gotten to the big pests that make this proposal so dangerous to our industry. Although ICM Registry has assured the adult industry that dot-xxx will be ?voluntary? and that nobody will be compelled to buy or use a dot-xxx domain name, how could they possibly make that assurance to us? How could they know that it wouldn't be made mandatory in the future? And I might add that if it were made mandatory, they certainly wouldn't stand to hurt from that financially.

Senator Lieberman, a Democrat that many of you remember was Al Gore?s running mate in 2000, has already proposed legislation that would attempt to make dot-xxx mandatory. He has been joined by Rep. Fred Upton of Utah, and Rep. Mike Pence of Indiana in calling for a mandatory TLD for adult sites. Congressmen have been salivating at the thought of lumping all online adult entertainment into one easily-censored group. Why are we helping them make that possible? Does the industry have a death wish?

If there were attempts to make dot-xxx mandatory ? and come on, do you really think someone won?t try it with three congressmen already lined up? ? there are two possible outcomes to an industry challenge. We win, or we lose. If we win then the industry spends hundreds of thousands of dollars ? or even millions ? trying to fight off legislation that wouldn?t have been possible without the creation of the dot-xxx domain name. What advantage is there in this for us, I wonder? If we lose then American webmasters are forced to move all of their adult websites over to whatever expensive dot-xxx domain names are available, and forced to abide by any rules that have been set for proper use of dot-xxx domain names. Yes, that means someone else will be telling you how to run your business.

The government is probably less of a threat regarding dot-xxx than private industry. Once adult websites are using dot-xxx domain names, what?s to stop ISPs from blocking out dot-xxx sites for any customers that don?t first jump through a lot of hoops? When a child accesses adult content on a dot-com the ISP?s are not held liable ? how could they possibly know which dot-com domains are okay for children and which are not? But a parent might have a liability claim against an ISP that allowed access to dot-xxx domain names without first checking the age of the user. And search engines and directories that supply dot-xxx search results to surfers without first checking ID might similarly find themselves in trouble. Yahoo is currently being sued for millions over adult content in one of their chat groups, so you can bet they will be worried about liability issues.

We also know that a lot of adult customers access adult websites from work or college; if you?re on dot-xxx domain names you can kiss that business goodbye.

And just when you though it couldn?t get any more interesting, let?s talk about this new IFFOR organization that was created to oversee dot-xxx domain names. IFFOR, which ironically stands for ?International Foundation for Online Responsibility,? was created back when ICM first started to push to make ?dot xxx? a reality. IFFOR would have a Board made up of people from a variety of interests, including ?family values? advocates. Adult industry representatives would make up a minority interest on this organization?s board. That means ? yup ? mostly people who do not have the adult industry?s best interests in mind will be making up the rules of behavior for dot-xxx domain name users. It is perfectly conceivable, and perhaps even likely, that a representative from one of the staunchest anti-porn groups like Concerned Women for America or Morality in Media could find a voice on the IFFOR Board ? and a means for influencing the way that you can run your adult business.

And for what? So that foreign businessmen can get rich selling us domain names that we don?t need, and that won?t protect children? And then use part of our money to fund an organization not controlled by the industry and possibly even influenced by our biggest opponents?

There is very little about dot-xxx that doesn?t stink. The premise stinks, the potential for harm stinks, and the fact that certain people inside the adult industry helped to make this happen stinks even more. The question that I find myself asking is which industry groups helped ICM get their application accepted at ICANN, and were they offered anything in exchange for their support? If the shit hits the fan over dot-xxx like so many of us expect that it will, I?d like to know who to thank at Christmas for bringing this latest nightmare down on the rest of the adult industry. It shouldn't be too hard to find those who have a financial stake in dot-xxx. Just find the people screaming loudest that dot-xxx is a good thing then ask yourself -- good for the industry, or good for their pocketbook?
Connor Young

[azguy]

Originally Posted by tony404

You also forget the part ,where a nonprofit board of god knows who will be making the rules you have to follow to have a .xxx domain. To say we are just crying is stupid and very very short sighted. To think we can not be pushed out of business is the thinking of a fool.

One word. INEVITABLE. A porn-specific TLD is way overdue. If it wasn't for ICM, some other group would have brought us .sex or .porno, so what's so surprising? That said, the "industry" had 5 years to fight it and try to stop ICM or even come up with its own, more representing, proposal to ICANN. Unforunately, most people in the porn business don't look beyond next week.