NNSquad - Network Neutrality Squad
[ NNSquad ] re India Plans to Block .XXX
Perhaps a practical way to approach this situation would be for *everybody* to preemptively block .xxx in as many ways as possible, reducing its value as close to zero as practicable, and eliminating much of the pressure for any legal firms to register in that unwanted and unwelcome TLD in the first place. Just kidding ... I think ... --Lauren-- NNSquad Moderator - - - Begin forwarded message: From: Rich Kulawiec <rsk@gsp.org> Date: March 24, 2011 9:30:56 PM EDT To: dave@farber.net Subject: Re: [IP] Fwd: India Plans to Block .XXX Here's what's going to happen with this fiasco. 1. Some existing online porn operations will register .xxx domains. In particular, the ones with deep pockets might pick up a few. But give that some porn operations have thousands of .com/.net/etc domains, it seems unlikely they'll want to spend the money to buy the equivalents for all of those in .xxx. Besides, they've already invested in promoting the domains they've got. 2. None of these operations will give up their .com etc. domains. 3. Scammers, spammers, phishers, and extortionists will move to register (a) the .xxx equivalent of .com/.net/.org domains held by non-porn operations. and (b) the .xxx equivalent of domains held by porn operations. They'll either use them to spam or will offer to sell them at grossly inflated prices. 4. Some holders of .com/.net/.org domains will pay the ransom, or will spend the money up-front to register the .xxx equivalents in an attempt to forestall the need to do so. 5. Widespread blacklisting of .xxx will commence because of 3(a) even in locales/operations that don't care about porn. And of course those that do, like India, will do so because of 1. Thus the value of a .xxx domain, even to a porn operation, will steadily decrease. 6. Some of the entities affected by 3 will call out their attorneys and begin protracted, expensive litigation. 7. Eventually, some legislative body will start debating a bill to *force* porn operators to give up their .com/etc. domains in favor of xxx domains. This bill will be supported by the .xxx registrar, of course, and there will be a massive chorus of "for the childrennnnn". It will pass and then there will be more work for attorneys. 8. Once this floodgate is open, attempts will be made to characterize non-porn sites (such as those dealing with birth control and abortion) as porn sites so that they can be forced into the .xxx ghetto at their own expense. Still more work for attorneys. (Well, except in autocracies where this will happen by fiat, with a concomitant impact on women's health and civil rights.) The bottom line: - existing porn operations don't want or need .xxx - existing non-porn operations don't want or need .xxx - anyone who wants to access any porn from anywhere will still do so - by a HUGE margin, the biggest beneficiary of this is the .xxx registrar - the only other beneficiaries are scammers, spammers and phishers and attorneys who specialize in trademark and constitutional law - the losers are everyone else who has a domain ---rsk