(via Freedom-to-Tinker)
Well, for now, ICANN has said no to .xxx domains.
ICANN had decided, some time back, to move toward a .xxx domain for adult content. The arrangements for .xxx seemed to be ready, but now ICANN has pulled the plug. The reason, apparently, is that the ICANN board was worried that ICM, the company that would have run .xxx, could not ensure that sites in the domain complied with all applicable laws. Note that this is a different standard than other domain managers would have to meet  nobody expects the managers of .com to ensure, proactively, that .com sites obey all of the national laws that might apply to them. And of course we all know why the standard was different: governments are touchy about porn.
Honestly, aside from making it easier for perverts like me to find good pr0n, I really don’t see the use of this domain. ICANN (nor any other organization) can force an adult site to use the domain, so it’s not like implementing this and then letting site providers, parents, ISP, and so on block it would stop adult sites. At best, it would block adult sites that try to play by the rules and make themselves easy to limit access to.
In the end, apparently ICANN decided the domain would not fit their purposes coordinating allocation of domains and numbers.
Read the full article – it’s lengthy, but full of good information about the organization and about decisions that go on behind domain creation and allocation.
[tags].xxx domains, ICANN[/tags]