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The Online Red Light District: Fueled Registers Fueled.xxx

After six years of legal warfare, the day was upon us: the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers fully opened the sale of .xxx…

After six years of legal warfare, the day was upon us: the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers fully opened the sale of .xxx domains on Tuesday, December 6. First proposed in 2000 and 2004, then subject to half a decade of further scrutiny, .xxx is now a top-level domain, as readily available as .com.

December 6 was, as a result, a bit of a battle. Private and public institutions, celebrities, and businesses vied for their .xxx domains out of understandable concern for mischievous play. Price ranged from $60 to a shocking $500,000. And, of course, we picked up our own - but just to be safe. We promise.

Many predict a digital wasteland akin to a red light district, where the Internet’s dark side will amass and wreak havoc. Proponents argue, conversely, that the domains create a filter, declaring loudly and clearly what sort of content surfers should expect. Software can be easily tuned to block out such sites, and online porn regulations will be more easily enforced.

Ben Crawford, CEO of domain firm CentralNic, looks more optimistically toward the future, seeing .xxx as the initial step in a move away from generic extensions that provide little information to the general public. Adding extensions - .brand, for example, or .nyc - will allow for tighter regulation and, as a result, greater authenticity, uprooting “brand pirates.” .xxx is the first step in this long-winded process.

Ultimately, though, .xxx may have already had its day. No site is required to use the extension, meaning the benefits of simplified regulation may be far and few between, and it's hard to imagine that those sites under scrutiny would attempt to simplify such a process for their detractors. Regardless, as the web expands like the universe, onward endlessly, learning to sort, file, and contain its content will simplify browsing for the better.

(Photograph: Atomic Imagery/Getty Images)

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