Mecurtio,
Thanks to a login timeout, you are spared a long point to point rant
regarding your arguments against having a .sex domain...
Instead I will try to address your points (and the original topic)
with a few of my own feeble opinions.
I early on thought that .sex was a good idea, but that it should be
supplemented with .xxx - Not all adult materials are necessarily
pornograhic or explicit, and those that do have some value beyond
entertainment (educational, theraputic, medical, etc) could be
better served by a further separation within that namespace.
ISPs that actively filter content based on who posts it or where it
comes from put themselves into a position to be liable as publishers
for any content that gets past their filters. Most prefer to
exist in a grey area between "common carrier" and "publisher" status,
to better avoid the limitations of either grouping.
Those that do filter any but the most illegal of materials face greater
competition from ISPs that allow greater access.
There are a few whacko admins out there, but the majority would be more
likely to accept such TLDs, specifically because it gives them more
information to filter on or track against if their network usage requires it.
Many consider the DNS system already broken/breaking due to the heavy-handed
tactics of Verisign, and the technocracy/bureaucracy of ICANN; enough so that
there is a groundswell for services like OpenDNS and the alternic to supplement
the existing hierarchy.
By a similar token, the majority of business oriented adult sites would welcome
such TLDs because it would allow them to more accurately target thier sites
towards actual paying customers. Yes, they would still keep thier old .com
designations as well, but many (the more responsible ones?) would shift those
URLs over as thier standard disclamer page before forwarding to their real site.
(I will address one point)
>5.) What happens when someone realizes that a <gasp> publicly-funded network link,
>such as a university's, is carrying traffic destined for .sex domains?
The same thing that already happens now. Having new TLDs would not overrule existing
usage policies that companies, government organizations, and educational institutions
already have on their networks. However that does open the possiblity of a Grad student
have a legitimate registration of MastersJohnson.sex as a news and discussion site for
researchers in Human Sexuality.
Most internet users would be better served by more cooperation and communication between
ISPs, Companies, Search Engines, Portals, et al, to make the use of existing and new
domains more easily understandable and usable, letting the boundaries be established
by community instead of by commitee.
-----
Getting back on the original topic, what matters is not what the name of the site
is, but what the members who make it up determine as its focus thru our usage of it.
The StorageForum name has historical significance due to the circumstances that
resulted in it forming. Even if the sites focus changes, the people that remain
as regulars will remember (or learn) the name was chosen both for the initial
gathering of storage enthusiasts, and in memory/respect for the sense of community
and level of professionalism that existed/exists in the storagereview forums.
I'm sure the focus here will start to wind back to storage topics as soon as
newer drives, Serial ATA, Ultra320 SCSI, or any number of other topics to
come actually become (consumer level) reality.
