Today the news has come through - some would say it's a good thing, some will be appalled - that the XXX domain has had approval from ICANN, the authority that sets things up.
Personally I'm delighted, but not necessarily for the reasons you might think a 45 year old man might have.
I'm first delighted because as long as the owners of these domains play ball, and as long as the adult entertainment industry moves itself to the new domain, it's going to be really easy to filter out.
Second, although as a 17 years-married man the female body isn't news to me, unless there are specific laws to block these things I think people ought to have their own legitimate playground. Clearly signposted with warnings for people who don't want to play, of course, but unless the law changes - and that's a debate for elsewhere - it's got to have its place, and the safer a domain makes it for the rest of us who don't want to get involved, the better.
This is where it starts to get a little hazy.
Some people might remember a cartoon a few years ago, called Beavis and Butthead. It was juvenile stuff but that was fine - you didn't like it, you didn't watch it. It was certainly never obscene.
Until someone bought the domain for beavisbutthead.com and loaded it with porn.
That's someone not giving a warning, not complying with usual laws, just deciding to offend people for their own entertainment. Now, that's obscene - and I'm afraid it's not even going to be touched by the XXX domain.
I can only hope this new move doesn't lead people to think they've "done it" as far as regulation is concerned. It's a great start and I wish it well - but "start" is all I can honestly call it.
