Not That Again

Some ideas are simply great. Think Penicillin. Or Fleshlights. Others have a certain charm but quickly come and go. Like pet rocks. Or Ricky Martin. And yet others are just simply bad. Take, for example the idea for a new, triple XXX domain. ICANN, the International Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, is once again considering a domain name for the Adult Entertainment Industry. Supporters defend the move as an effective means by which pornography can be filtered thus making libraries safe once again for the viewing public. Others, a curious mix of conservative organizations and civil libertarians, are arguing against just such a move. Conservative groups like the Family Research Council say that by establishing a XXX domain you legitimize the Adult Entertainment Industry. Other domains such as .com (commerce), .org (non-profit organizations, among others), and .edu (educational entities) serve a legitimate purpose, they argue. Further, businesses that traffic in porn are under no obligation to switch. They can maintain their .com domain name if they so choose. Civil libertarians (read: porn producers) argue that they have a legitimate, first amendment right to do what they do and, thus, should not be stigmatized or penalized with what would be seen as a widely pejorative domain name. What both groups do agree on, however, is how utterly ridiculous the whole idea is because it would be completely unenforceable. Setting aside for a minute the “optional switch” clause for a moment, businesses outside of the United States would be under no obligation to accede to the demands of ICANN. And since the move would be optional, unenforceable and has brought together two ideological camps not known for agreeing on much of anything, we can safely say this idea ranks well below Fleshlights and somewhere just slightly above the inflatable radiator