August 9, 2005 — (WEB HOST INDUSTRY REVIEW) — ICM Registry, the ICANN-appointed operator for the .xxx domain registry released a statement on Monday refuting the misleading claims of several other organizations that the domain’s “sunrise” or “landrush” period had begun.
Last week, a company known as Registry X announced that the sunrise period for the name had commenced, offering what it referred to as “pre-registrations” for the domain.
ICM Registry posted a response to its Web site, pointing out that the domain has not yet been launched, and warning that no registrars or other entities have yet been licensed to register .xxx domains.
“We advise consumers to be very cautious of such schemes and regularly check our website or join our mailing list for updates on availability of .xxx , which will be through ICANN accredited registrars,” said the registry’s bulletin.
The Registry X offering, while arguably a service, is no more likely to result in a successful registration than a customer’s own efforts.
According to FTC reports, misleading offerings of this kind have been a problem with the launches of top-level domains in the past.
