More than 100,000 pornographic websites bearing the controversial .xxx suffix have gone live today, in a bid to create a virtual red-light district which will prevent unsuspecting users from stumbling onto adult content by accident.
The move has been on the way since March this year, when the suffix was approved as a sponsored Top-Level Domain (sTLD) by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), the non-profit organisation that co-ordinates web addresses.
Since then, ICM Registry, which is responsible for handing out .xxx domain names, has been promoting the alternative suffix as a positive for both producers and consumers of adult entertainment.
The organisation says the .xxx suffix will create ‘a clearly signposted place where adult entertainment can be accessed and allow surfers to have a clear idea of the nature of the site before they click, rather than after’.
Those wishing to avoid adult content will be able to filter out .xxx sites more easily, ICM Registry says, and every website in the domain will be scanned daily for malware by McAfee, providing a more secure experience for users.
"Regardless of your views on adult content,” ICM Registry’s website says, "it’s here to stay, so let’s be adult about it.”
Of course, the new domain has no effect on adult sites operating with the .com suffix. Opponents of .xxx say all the move does is normalise and endorse pornography.
Even some within the industry oppose the suffix, with Manwin, the company that runs the Playboy website among others, claiming .xxx is anticompetitive.
While many organisations will pay a small fee simply to keep their .xxx equivalent free from pornography, popular ‘premium’ domains are auctioned, and some have reportedly sold for many thousands of dollars.
What do you think of the .xxx domain? Will it result in greater control on internet pornography, or will it be just another avenue? Post your comments below.
