[ga] Re: [ PFIR ] Open letter: Why "dot-xxx" is for Chumps

[Jeff Williams <jwkckid1@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Laren and all,

  I agree this letter is of great interest.  It however will be
or little consequence to ICANN as they as you indicate
below, are in another world of their own minds and
making which has little to do with the real world.

pfir@xxxxxxxx wrote:

>   [ This letter may be of interest to the PFIR readership.
>
>                                             -- Lauren ]
>
>   - - -
>
> Open letter: Why "dot-xxx" is for chumps
>
> This is an open letter addressed to that segment of the Internet
> community where the *real* money is made -- the "adult entertainment"
> industry.  For that matter, the operators of the ubiquitous
> non-commercial sexually-oriented Web sites can join in as well.
>
> I have some free advice that may save you a great deal of grief.
>
> Now, in all honesty, I don't have any particular love for your
> operations or your products.  I'm not a prude (well, not much of one,
> anyway), but by continuing to push the envelope you folks have
> engendered a great deal of negative reaction that's approaching a
> fever pitch.
>
> That reaction is what I'm really concerned about, since it's likely
> to splatter collateral damage broadly across a wide range of free
> speech and civil liberties arenas.
>
> So, in my desire to protect them, I'll try to protect you as well.
>
> My advice?  Don't fall into the "dot-xxx" trap that's being set for
> you by ICANN.
>
> As you no doubt are aware, ICANN appears to be preparing for the
> deployment -- despite broad protests across the political spectrum and
> a couple of delays -- of a "dot-xxx" top-level domain (TLD).
>
> I've explained elsewhere ( http://www.pfir.org/ip-exexex )
> and ( http://www.pfir.org/ip-exexex-01 ), why dot-xxx is an
> absolutely atrocious idea.
>
> ICANN claims that participation in the domain will be voluntary, and
> that will indeed be the case -- at first.
>
> But as I discussed back in a 2001 PFIR position paper on "domain
> ghettoization" ( http://www.pfir.org/statements/ghetto-domains ),
> such efforts are a slippery slope likely leading to widespread
> filtering and censoring by ISPs, governments, plus a broad range of
> other entities, affecting a *lot more* than merely pornographic
> materials.  A glance at the current Supreme Court situation is not
> particularly encouraging in this regard.
>
> ICANN apparently doesn't view their dot-xxx plan as a trap.  They
> seem to consider themselves courageous by pushing on with that TLD
> despite the broad public and private consensus that it's a terrible
> concept.  Unfortunately, this is the sort of "forge ahead over the
> cliff" behavior that we've come to expect from ICANN as an
> organization.
>
> So if dot-xxx arrives, my strong recommendation is that
> *you ignore it*.  Pretend that it doesn't exist.  Allow it to be
> an empty database.  Joining that domain won't provide you with any
> cover -- what you'll actually be doing is painting a giant bulls-eye
> on yourselves -- and on a vast array of worthy and important groups and
> materials that have nothing whatever to do with adult entertainment.
>
> Dot-xxx is for chumps.
>
> By the way, I originally considered titling this entry with a
> domain-related variation on the old "Suppose They Gave a War and
> Nobody Came" line, but while the situation with dot-xxx is
> indeed dangerous -- and an example of so much that's wrong with
> Internet Governance in general and ICANN in particular -- this
> matter is anything but a dirty joke.
>
> --Lauren--
> Lauren Weinstein
> lauren@xxxxxxxx or lauren@xxxxxxxxxx or lauren@xxxxxxxx
> Tel: +1 (818) 225-2800
> http://www.pfir.org/lauren
> Co-Founder, PFIR
>    - People For Internet Responsibility - http://www.pfir.org
> Co-Founder, EEPI
>    - Electronic Entertainment Policy Initiative - http://www.eepi.org
> Moderator, PRIVACY Forum - http://www.vortex.com
> Member, ACM Committee on Computers and Public Policy
> Lauren's Blog: http://lauren.vortex.com
> DayThink: http://daythink.vortex.com
> _______________________________________________
> pfir mailing list
> http://lists.pfir.org/mailman/listinfo/pfir

Regards,
--
Jeffrey A. Williams
Spokesman for INEGroup LLA. - (Over 134k members/stakeholders strong!)
"Obediance of the law is the greatest freedom" -
   Abraham Lincoln

"If the probability be called P; the injury, L; and the burden, B;
liability depends upon whether B is less than L multiplied by
P: i.e., whether B is less than PL."
United States v. Carroll Towing  (159 F.2d 169 [2d Cir. 1947]
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