W0ot! I Can Own Goetse.xxx

Well, well, well, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (aka ICANN) has decided to render a decision regarding the .XXX tld (top level domain). That decision is “let them have pornography and eat it, too!” Or something equally ridiculous. Actually this is something that was supposed to happen some time last year. However, the decision got stalled due to pressure from several governments who were hell-bent on blocking the approval of the porn TLD. This has been a debate that's been raging for a while and looks to have concluded. However, I'd expect many governments to have a further say on the matter.

Personally, I don't see an issue with having a .xxx domain for adult-related websites. Some would argue that providing a .xxx domain would give credibility to adult content producers and some how glorify what they do. Um, let me interject here: If you are a producer of products where people have sex, you're going to get glorified by a lot of freaking people. I don't see how giving adult content producers their own corner of the web makes what they do any more or even less important. Whether you like it or not, the adult industry is a significant money making industry in American and pays taxes on the things we all enjoy. Let's give a round of reach arounds to ICANN for their part of internet history.

Why did ICANN approve the .XXX TLD anyway?

ICANN did this more out of putting this issue to bed than anything else. What's funny to me is that some of the opponents of this decision are actually adult content producers! Their feeling is that the .xxx “will ghettoize” the industry with even worse smut than what is already available. I'd buy that for a dollar. I mean, how much worse could it get? Unless that smut includes some sort of Furry porn, I'm not terribly concerned.

The fact of the matter is that porn has been around in a variety of packages since the time of baby Jesus. Does the .xxx domain really make the industry any more “legitimate?” Does it “ghettoize” the industry? First off, whoever said “ghettoize” needs to get punched in the neck; I hate that term. I really don't see how it does. Also, I don't see that the .xxx TLD will help reduce the porn already attached to .com TLDs. Really, it's a marketing tool for the adult industry, pure and simple. It's just one more thing they can use; not that having .com was hurting the industry in any way.

What do you think? Is the .xxx top level domain bad for society? Does it provide more legitimacy to the pornography and adult industries?