Plans to allow pornographic sites to use the suffix .xxx has been shut down. ICANN members, the company that looks over domain addresses, say that .xxx would put the company in a role to regulate content. �[A] large part of the community thinks that if we approve dot XXX, all that material that we said will magically move into dot XXX, and, therefore, children will be protected, because it will be easy to filter.� Said board member Roberto Gaetano. The vote, which took place in Lisbon, Portugal, was rejected 9 votes to 5 with one abstaining vote.
The argument is that .xxx would help maintain quality control and would provide a safer internet, providing an easy way to monitor children’s internet use. Sadly, this means that Gearfuse.xxx wil never become a working URL. *sigh*…a man can dream. — Andrew Dobrow