NEW YORK — Although mainstream media has been buzzing about a number of non-adult entities scooping up .XXX domains, the hype may not be justified.
CNET reported yesterday that hundreds of .XXX domains — many with mainstream prefixes — have not been registered and can be grabbed by anyone interested in profiting from the adult association for as little as $100 a year.
Citing a study by Stanford University researcher Elie Bursztein, despite the initial news about non-porn entities rushing to get their .XXX to protect themselves from interloping adult profiteers, the frenzy is overblown.
Bursztein found that of the world’s 50,000 most popular websites, only 24 percent have grabbed .XXX domains.
"There's been a lot of news about people rushing to buy .xxx," Bursztein told CNET. "But after the dust settled, it turns out that the data don't agree with the hype."
Some choice government names like USDOJ, Treasury, DARPA and USEmbassy were listed along with top universities like Brynmawr and LoyolaCollege as being up for the .XXX taking.
And even some typical porn names that pop up with top Alexa ratings including PornControl and porn star LexiLove are still unclaimed.
But not so fast.
The Domains — a website that specializes in domain information and discussion pointed out that the CNET article got it wrong by relying on the general WHOIS registration data and not ICM Registry’s WHOIS link that shows many of the domains are either pending in sunrise, land rush or waiting for auction.
It appears as though there's some confusion as to what's available for public consumption. The aforementioned domain for LexiLove shows that it may in fact be available — but only for adult — as it's reserved for performers on ICM's site.
And other more culturally sensitive names like JesusChrist, ProphetMohammad and well-know political figures including BarackObama are on special reserve by ICM and can’t be bought.
The article also pointed out that even if the domain is secured it will never be a website unless it adheres to ICM’s policy for adult "sponsored community" that requries .XXX domains to "provide online entertainment" or be a supporting business, such as providing legal, accounting, catering, or manufacturing services.