.XXX Gets The "X"… Again
The third time was not a charm for proponents of the implementation of the gTLD .xxx. In a 9:5 vote on Friday March 30, 2007, the proposal was rejected yet again. ICM Registry LLC had first submitted the proposal to ICANN seven years. Needless to say, ICM Chief Executive Stuart Lawley was not pleased with the outcome. He says that ICM will continue to fight to for the .xxx TLD and told the Associated Press that, if need be, ICM would go as far as filing lawsuit against ICANN.
According to ICANN board member Steve Goldstein, the .xxx gTLD got the thumbs down because it is in opposition with ICANN’s technical mandate.
Meanwhile, another board member by the name of Raimundo Beca cited failure to meet the application requirement of supporting the community as another reason the proposal was declined. If the porn community had been completely onboard with the .xxx domain, the TLD would have had a better chance but that is not the case. There are hugely differing opinions about the .xxx TLD. Politics aside, the main reason the proposal was turned down is likely due to the fact that ICANN doesn’t want to have to control content of the domain, which they would be required to do under the current laws.
ICANN board member Susan Crawford vented on the issue on her blog. She touched on a number of points but summed it all up by saying, “We should be examining generic TLD applicants on the basis of their technical and financial strength, and we should avoid dealing with 'content' concerns to the maximum extent possible. We should be opening up new TLDs. I hope we will find a way to achieve such a sound process in short order.”
Though many are happy with .xxx's repeated defeat and ICANN’s decision, ICANN is still being ridiculed by some for the way the entire situation was handled.
What do you think?
Related post: .XXX May Be The Solution, But What Is The Problem?
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