( Mashable ) -- Is it just me or is the ICANN plan to corral online porn going terribly wrong ? We already have reports that universities are snapping up XXX domains in an effort to get ahead of porn pranksters who want to besmirch a few good online names with smut . I guess this turn of events was obvious to anyone with half a brain . Legitimate porn sites have little interest in the triple X domains , which went on sale earlier this week , for their businesses because they see them as potential censorship and , more importantly , they thrive on people accidentally stumbling on their URLs . In the early days of the web this was common because porn purveyors snapped up known names and brands -- none of which had to feature an obvious porn domain label . That 's how `` Whitehouse.com '' ended up , for a time , as a porn site . .XXX was designed to improve the situation . No more accidentally typing in , well , something you did n't intend . With a designated porn domain , it 's unlikely anyone would end up in the wrong place . Better yet , corporations and homes could easily block all .XXX domains . That 's the plan , but if pornographers stay away and legitimate people , companies , businesses and universities race to snap up any and all XXX domain names that could be construed as theirs , then this triple XXX domain could be an embarrassing failure for the ICANN ( Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers ) . Think I 'm exaggerating ? The AP reports that 80,000 XXX domains were sold in presale and many companies like Pepsi and Nike lined up to purchase adult domains . The University of Kansas reportedly just paid $ 3,000 for a variety of XXX URLs . It 's unlikely anyone will ever type in www.KUgirls.xxx , but that 's not the point . The university just wanted to be safe . I understand the impulse . Even as I 'm writing this , I 'm wondering if I , too , should try to protect my good name by buying the LanceUlanoff.xxx domain . I know where to go . GoDaddy.com is registering them for $ 99 a year , making these domains considerably more expensive than standard domains ( which you can buy at various sites at anywhere from $ 1.99 or $ 9.99 -- yearly maintenance fees are then more expensive ) . According to the website , if I wanted to launch an adult website under that URL , I actually have to become an `` Internet Community Member '' and then confirm my status of `` the sponsored adult entertainment community '' . My guess is that this is how the ICANN polices the URLs , to ensure that someone is n't registering someone else 's brand as a porn site . I have no plans to do so , which conveniently means I do not have to become a part of the `` Community . '' GoDaddy tells me this too , and is -- fortunately , I guess -- only too happy to help me park my URL for the same exorbitant fee . Atop GoDaddy 's XXX domain registration page is this : `` Let 's be adult about it . Create an adult Web presence or protect your brand . '' This is followed by an explanation of why you 'd want to register an XXX domain . Note what it starts with : . `` Secure your brand . Protect your reputation . '' `` Perhaps you 'd like to create an adult entertainment website . Or maybe you 're here to keep your brand from being registered as a .XXX by someone else . Whatever your reasons for wanting a .XXX domain , you 've come to the right place . To check the availability of your domain , type the name you want into the search box above. `` GoDaddy has built its brand with coy references to sex ( check out any of its Super Bowl ads ) , but it 's not being coy here . The message is clear : If you do n't want someone launching a porn XXX domain with your name or brand , you 'd better let GoDaddy take your money and register it for you . While I see the parallels with the early days of the web , this situation is different in one fundamental way : Those snapping up the domains for protection will never use them . No one outside the porn industry wants to run a live XXX domain website . These businesses and universities are simply buying them in what GoDaddy actually calls `` Defensive Registrations '' to hide them from view forever ( and they 'll pay GoDaddy yearly fees to do so ) . Instead of creating a solution , the ICANN 's apparently misguided efforts have spawned a new anxiety : `` Your Brand Name in Porn . '' The fear is so strong that it 's got all these people buying up domains just so the wrong people ca n't get them . As I see it , this could be quite a windfall for GoDaddy . The company should send the ICANN a thank-you note . See the original article at Mashable.com . © 2013 MASHABLE.com . All rights reserved .
Universities are buying XXX domains to get ahead of porn pranksters . Comment: GoDaddy.com is registering them for $ 99 a year , making these domains more expensive .