The Generic Top-Level Domain Policy Oversight
Committee has
published a request for comments about the suggestion
of creating
a separate domain name for sex sites.
The new domain name, which would be "the equivalent to a
'red-light zone'" on the Net, according to the
committee, is
suggested with the intent of making it easier for
parents to keep
children away from objectionable material.
The suggested ".xxx" domain name is included in the
request,
along with ".firm," intended for businesses; ".store," for
businesses offering goods for sale; ".web," for sites
emphasizing
Web-related activities; ".arts," for sites with
cultural or
entertainment activities; ".rec," for recreation
sites; ".info," for
information sites; and ".nom," for personal Web pages.
The committee will be accepting comments on all of the
suggested
domain names through October 13.
The ".xxx" domain isn't getting a strong show of
support, either
in or out of the committee. Dave Crocker, a consultant
with
Brandenberg Consulting and a member of the committee, was
unenthusiastic about the utility of the suggested
domain name.
"It is unlikely that anyone will be able to write a
correct law that
forces me to adhere to the '.xxx' domain name," he
said. "It's
useful only as a marketing tool" for porn sites.
Barry Steinhart, the associate director of the ACLU,
finds the
suggestion troubling for other, more ideological reasons.
He worried that all sites of a sexual nature, like
AIDS information
sites, would be included under the new domain name.
"All sexual
speech will be lumped into the '.xxx' domain. There's
a lot of
people who object to speaking frankly about sex."
Steinhart also raised questions about whether the
government
would be screening the sites, or whether it would be a
self-selecting process. Either way, the ACLU fears the
reprisals
that would come from sites being accused of mislabeling.
"We're concerned that this will become an overarching
category
to condemn all forms of speech with sexual content,"
Steinhart
said
-
Care about people's approval and you will be their prisoner.
-Toa Te Ching
<>tbyars@earthlink.net <>