New .xxx Domains for Adult Sites Now Available to Public
The floodgates opened today for adult content webmasters when the much anticipated (and debated) .xxx domains became publicly available from domain registrars. The race is on to snatch up the most valuable domains in this new expanse of web real-estate, but some are voicing concerns that a dedicated top level domain for pornography is an endorsement of adult content.
These new .xxx domains serve as a virtual red-light district for adult sites to exist safely and separately from the general web. Every .xxx website will be regularly scanned for viruses by McAfee (a first for any top level domain) and can be found in dedicated search engines.
Supporters of this virtual adult-only section say that the .xxx label will allow users to more easily avoid inappropriate content by explicitly categorizing those sites as such and making it much easier for browsers to filter them out. Skeptics have pointed out that adult content can still be found on traditional domain suffixes and webmasters aren't required to make the switch to .xxx sites.
Patrick Vaughn, general counsel for the American Family Association, told Mashable "...it just creates more real estate for the pornography industry, and it doesn't exclude the sites that already exist. It might have been helpful if they set up .xxx, and that was the only place to find pornography."
Despite these criticisms the adult website scene seems to be embracing this new territory ravenously, having just today launched 100,000 .xxx domains. Most major accredited domain registrars now support the new TLD, they can be found on the popular buy.xxx portal.
The future of .xxx is still up in the air, it’s ultimately up to the average porn viewer to decide whether this new library of adult sites becomes the next big thing in adult entertainment or just another obscure domain suffix ghost down.
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