Internet policy and the domain name space is constantly evolving.
As a company actively involved in this space we try our best to keep abreast of changes that affect us both in Ireland, the EU and globally.
We also like to take an active part in the policy change and development when we can.
We are an ICANN accredited registrar (the only company to have ever been accredited by ICANN in Ireland) and are closely involved with internet policy development, both in Ireland, the EU and globally.
ICANN, which is the international body that, in very simple terms, oversees the internet, is currently asking the public for comments on how they should handle ICM Registry‘s .xxx proposal. (You can get some of the background to what has been going on with the .xxx proposal here.)
I submitted the following comment to ICANN from Blacknight last night via email:
We would like to thank ICANN for affording us this opportunity to submit our
comments on .xxxICANN and ICM need to bury any “hatchets” and move on to contract negotiation
as soon as possible.Failure to do so will cost ICANN heavily, not only in financial terms, but also
in relation to its position as an international organisation.The independent review process did not happen overnight and was extremely
thorough. If ICANN ignores its findings, then it will be very hard for many of
us to respect ICANN as an organisation moving forward. However, if ICANN were
to acknowledge its mistakes and move forward with .xxx then it would show a
greater level of commitment to transparency and accountability. Transparency
and accountability were, two of the points we felt that ICANN had embraced with
the Affirmation of Commitments last year. (See Neylon to Beckstrom
http://www.icann.org/correspondence/neylon-to-beckstrom-30sep09-en.pdf )As a registrar we look forward to being able to offer registrants the choice to
register domains in .xxx if they so choose. If ICANN and ICM launch .xxx users
will have the choice to register and use the domain extension if they wish. It
is that freedom of choice that has helped the internet to grow since its
inception and in the year that .com celebrates its 25th anniversary it is
fitting that ICANN should move forward not only with .xxx but with the rest of
the new gTLD project.Regards
Michele
Hopefully something decisive will happen between now and the close of the ICANN meeting in Brussels this June.
If you have any thoughts, queries or comments on this topic please feel free to submit a comment below – we always welcome feedback and discussion!
About the Author: Michele Neylon
14 Comments
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I really fail to see the issue with it …
For me it makes so much sense. Pron I presume is still one of the biggest industries on the net and probably one that spurred a hell of a lot of the developments that currently exist in terms of video / streaming / web cams / flash security and payment processing online (and so on) so why not give it its own tld
Would make it so much easier for people to go … oh lets not click on the .xxx site when searching for lets say “knockers” for doors 😀 And on net nanny software would make sense as the whole TLD could simply be blacklisted …
Of course you’ll still the current offerings on the dot com s but …
James
As I said in my comment to ICANN it’s simply a matter of choice.
At present there are over 250 gTLDs and ccTLDs ie. a person or business can choose to register a name in any one of those extensions. Some of them have restrictions and rules, others don’t.
If .xxx were to launch then people would have a choice to use the name space or to ignore it.
Michele
In reality, what level of adoption will .xxx see? I don’t think any Irish airlines or airports use .aero (ei.aero, fy.aero, re.aero, dub.aero, snn.aero, ork.aero). http://www.dublin.airport.aero/ is neglected. As a result, very few people know .aero exists, everyone use’s .com’s.
.xxx is nice in theory, but I’m not sure we’re going to see much of a trend away from .com
Awesome Michele – it’s great to see you support the ICN Registry’s application.
You and I have been discussing this for some time now, so I’m confident you won’t mind me publishing the link to my post on the matter as it provides more technical detail to the ICM solution to help protect minors from inappropriate content.
http://paulfwalsh.com/an-open-letter-to-the-icann-board/
the advantage of .xxx is visibility for those who wish to use it
the disadvantage is the .xxx visibility too…
that the shadier adult sites who do not wish to be monitored by gatekeeper software won’t use those domains.
The problem with XXX as a TLD is that the biggest benefit it could bring is unattainable.
Logistically you cant move all current p*rn sites from .com or whatever to .XXX as the domains wont be there e.g. who gets P*rn.XXX, is it the .com .net or .org site. Therefore the policing/access benefit it would provide is unachievable.
This isn’t negativity. I’d support it and it makes sense. It will add a nice new TLD, but its too late for it to really achieve its full potential.
It would have been great if it was part of the first TLDs and even better if all the TLDs were used for their original ‘purpose’.
Cart and horse and all that.
Best of luck with the approach. It will no doubt be a very lucrative Sunrise period. Is there any way to see what other TLDs have been applied for? (.coke, .Dub, is it private or is there a link?)
Just read Pauls update on his site (linked above) which addresses my comments!
“the promotion of MetaCert Content Labels by .xxx will lead the way for all other .tld domain sites to follow suit and therefore lead to (at last) a solution to block all porn sites from access to kids via a content label that has widespread adoption”
Thanks Paul.
David
There is no simple way to predict how big in terms of numbers a TLD can become. However you should bear in mind that a TLD’s success is not only down to volume. For example .cat has proven to be a success in that it serves its community.
Thanks for your comment
Michele
Cormac
The .xxx application from ICM Registry is not part of the New TLD program – it predates it, which is one of the reasons why it needs to be put to bed.
The New TLD program is still being discussed, debated and finalised. (http://www.icann.org/en/topics/new-gtld-program.htm)
The only TLD project that is currently ongoing, that I am aware of, is the introduction of IDN domains (http://www.icann.org/en/topics/idn/)
Thanks for your comments
Michele
New TLDs are always welcome but I just hope the .xxx won’t be the first step to internet censorship. Something like : inappropriate content only with .xxx or else …
Raul
Governments and other organisations are going to be trying to regulate more and more in the coming years. Hopefully we, as an industry, can encourage them to work with us towards healthy self-regulation instead of over legislation.
Michele
I agree with Raul,
While I think it would be a great TLD that will make filtering software like parental control’s much easer to hide content from kids, it could so easily be used to censor content on other TLD’s.
Its a slippery slop that we just don’t want to go down.
Thanks Michele, I didnt realise that there was still a discussion on the new TLDs. It will be interesting to see how that develops.
Cormac
If you’re interested in what’s going on with the new TLDs keep an eye on the main ICANN site. They’ll be one of the key topics at the next meeting in Brussels in June
Michele