Soon, people will be able to buy a .xxx domain for their web sites, much as we can purchase .com or .net domains today. There has been a heated debate over this change, with many expressing fears that the top-level domain would legitimize internet pornography by creating a space just for those sites.
While I am opposed to creating the domain, that is another argument for another day. What irritates me is the flagrant dishonesty being used to support the new domain.
BBC News reports that "supporters say the domain will make it easier to filter out inappropriate content." Peter Dengate Thrush of ICANN told the Washington Post said "it will be easier for people to filter" internet porn.
The people who say this are either fools or liars, and almost certainly the latter.
It has been well-documented that a huge percentage of Internet traffic is dedicated to pornography. Does anyone think that existing sites are going to give up their current domain names and move to a .xxx domain? You will sooner see Osama bin Laden waving an American flag and chanting "USA" in his cave somewhere in Pakistan. The existing sites will stay exactly where they are.
If supporters of the .xxx top-level domain want to advance their argument for it, we can have a reasonable discussion about the merits and drawbacks of the proposal. But at least have enough respect for those hearing your argument to not make a claim that is so obviously false to anyone with even the most rudimentary knowledge of the Internet. Shameless lies only discredit your position and weaken your argument.
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