I’ve been looking at some of the emails sent in to the Internet overseeing body Icann that petition against it releasing a .xxx domain – strictly for research purposes. In this case, my column. Ooh er.  

To be honest, the mails fair put me off my cornflakes, never mind any nocturnal browsing thoughts I might have had.

If I could I would reproduce them all, in all their morning glory, but I have too much to do. So these are just a selection.

One says, “I believe that a new .xxx domain would just legitimize what the pornographers are doing. Please work hard to get pornography off the Internet, not help put more on it!”

Another, adds – can we really call it adding? – “Of course the type of GTLD will be for adult sites In religions) Islam, Jew, Christian) it is prohibited and ethics refuse this type Things. So, On behalf of Emirates Internet Group we strongly effuse the TLD.”

Someone else chips in with, “I respectfully request that you permanently ban a triple X web site” -a complaint that may not be all it seems when you consider what follows – a very telling, possibly subconscious, admission regarding the reasons behind the sending of the email mailing. “This is perversion, not a matter of free speech.”

This person is wholly confused, “Every single activity on the Internet don't need his own top-level domain name! Imagine 10.000.000 top level domain names as is dot car, dot rent, dot buy, dot sell, dot shop, dot fish, dot clock, dot xxx ...

Respect freedom of the speech and NOT restrict all sexual activities on the single one top level domain name. Who will be responsible to say if some WWW must be or not must be in this dot XXX?! What is ok for you, will be strongly NOT ok for some muslims, jews or some others! For the some people on the world is ok only girl which is totally clothed and not exit his own house for whole his long life...” Okay then. So, we’ll take your opinion on something. Oh-kay…

This next mailer has possibly been exposed to too much porn already, given as he seems unable to finish off his point without using a rather laboured innuendo. “I am opposed to setting up an .xxx domain. I believe that a new .xxx domain would just legitimize what the pornographers are doing. Without forcing them to use the domain, it would end up providing them with further incentive for growth!” I must say that including the exclamation mark in some sort of nod to Frankie Howerd’s almost forces his point into the realm of parody.