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“Sex” is said to be the most frequently searched word on
the Internet, followed closely by a slew of related terms I will not
repeat here, or anywhere else for that matter. I suppose this will
surprise no one, though searching for sex on the Internet is a lot
like looking for sand on the beach: You don’t need help finding it
so much as keeping out of unwanted places.
The prevalence of Internet porn has birthed countless
filters and other software to shield children as well as adult
traditionalists like me, who want their sex lives to involve a real
live person to whom they are married. Some of these programs work
better than others but none are perfect.
Porn operators were among the first to recognize the
power of search engines, programs that help people sift the Internet
haystack for the occasional needle of information. Search engines
have done more to make the Internet useful than perhaps anything
other than email, and given the ratio of spam to wanted mail search
engines might be the hands-down winner. I use them extensively for
this column, my day job, and just about anything that sparks my
curiosity except sex, at least not on purpose.
For example, consider Brazilian walnut. I’m doing
exactly that for a home remodeling project and have used Google to
research various types of hardwood flooring. Brazilian walnut came
to my attention due to its reported hardness and stability, so I
decided to check it out.
I indicated I wanted sites with the terms “Brazilian
walnut,” “hardwood,” “floor,” “hardness,” and “stability,” then
clicked go. The first half dozen hits were just what I was looking
for; the seventh was a hardcore porn site. There was no clue in
Google’s site description there would anything racier than a
stripped wood floor.
Not that I blame Google. Porn operators go to great
lengths to snare web surfers using techniques that range from
technology that won’t let you exit networks of porn sites to word
tricks that lure the unsuspecting, as with the phony flooring site
that snagged me.
I have learned to be cautious with search engines but I
still get caught on occasion. The experience leaves me more annoyed
than traumatized but it can be a different story for young children
researching a homework assignment or looking for the latest Disney
flick (I shudder to think what might pop up in a search for “Snow
White and the Seven Dwarfs”).
Relief might be in sight, or at least a little hope.
After years of debate the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names
and Numbers has authorized the “.xxx” domain name for the exclusive
– though voluntary – use of porn sites. Joining .com, .net, and
other current domains, the .xxx designation could make it easier for
filtering software to detect and block so-called adult sites.
It might work if predatory porn operators don’t view the
new domain as just another obstacle to overcome, and not a
particularly difficult one at that. Internet pornographers
generally deny trying to attract children or anyone else who isn’t
interested – when they’re not busy saluting the generations of
American soldiers who died making the nation safe for the God-given
First Amendment right to put smut on every monitor. With a long
history of luring anyone they can, anyway they can, real change will
not come easily.
It will be interesting to see if pious Internet
pornographers switch to the .xxx domain and put their money where
their mouths are. It would be nice to think so but I suspect
they’ll simply continue to put their money where their wallets are.
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