[LINK] [ PRIVACY Forum ] Call for ICANN to Kill "Dot-Ex-Ex-Ex" Top-Level Domain at Tomorrow's Vote

[Roger Clarke]

Here's Lauren Weinstein's take on the .xxx domain-name proposal:
http://www.icann.org/announcements/announcement-05jan07.htm


Call for ICANN to Kill "Dot-Ex-Ex-Ex" Top-Level Domain at Tomorrow's Vote

            http://lauren.vortex.com/archive/000220.html

Greetings.  As is already widely known, I remain very strongly
opposed to the creation of a dot-ex-ex-ex TLD (top-level domain),
and would find it necessary to continue such opposition through
whatever venues are available if the domain is approved at a likely
ICANN vote tomorrow.  I feel that dot-ex-ex-ex would create a
disastrous slippery slope for censorship and free speech, despite
its ostensibly "voluntary" nature.  I don't think this is an area
where ICANN should wish to tread even peripherally.  Like many
observers, I fail to see what constituency would be positively
served by dot-ex-ex-ex, other than ICM -- the company that would run
the TLD and profit from its use.

The relatively heavy speculative "pre-registrations" on the domain are
obviously mainly driven by protective actions from existing dot-com
domain holders, who cannot afford to have the dot-ex-ex-ex versions
of their domain names obtained by someone else.  This hardly
qualifies as "support" for the dot-ex-ex-ex concept.

I hope that ICANN will choose to kill this idea once and for all.  I
fear that if it is approved, it will only represent the start of a
long legal path as various governmental and private parties attempt
to block it, and that would be an unfortunate waste of time and
resources for everyone.

--Lauren--
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Roger Clarke                  http://www.anu.edu.au/people/Roger.Clarke/

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Visiting Professor in Info Science & Eng  Australian National University
Visiting Professor in the eCommerce Program      University of Hong Kong
Visiting Professor in the Cyberspace Law & Policy Centre      Uni of NSW