The New Kids Domain

August 28, 2003 4:36 AM

kids.us ready to go.Hidden amongst the seemingly endless barrage of SOBig virii this morning was an interesting email from that ResourceShelf Guy on the new kids Domain.
Being billed as "an Internet domain that parents and children can trust for educational and appropriate online fun" kids.us Launches On September 4, 2003. You can read the Overview of kids.us Policies and Procedures, or Register A Name (starting next week).
Interestingly they Say a company called cyveillance will be "monitoring and reviewing" content for the domains.
The domain names will Look a little funny, but maybe Someone should snag www.metafilter.kids.us, you know, for the kids. They don't seem cheap, as "Registrants will be charged a combined registration fee and a non-refundable application fee for five-year registration.
posted by Blake (13 comments total)

Is this just some company trying to make a few quick bucks making a set of kids only webpages? I don't see anything to suggest this is supported by the US government or the people operating .us.

So as far as I can tell it's just some company certifies sites as 'safe for kids', charges an arm and a leg, and uses the DNS system for it. No offence intended, but how is this interesting?
posted by fvw at 5:00 AM on August 28, 2003

From the FAQ: It's the first and only "youth-friendly" Web space to be established by the United States government ... The "Dot Kids Implementation and Efficiency Act" enables NTIA and NeuStar to collaborate in the operation of the kids.us domain.
posted by rory at 5:37 AM on August 28, 2003

Ah, so it does, my bad.

I wonder if anybody apart from those trying to sell stuff to kids (disney, mattel etc) are going to be willing to pay the $750/5yrs fee to get their message across.
posted by fvw at 6:09 AM on August 28, 2003

Kids! Can you spell 'extortionate'?
posted by rory at 6:17 AM on August 28, 2003

So...who decides if "Heather Has Two Mommies" is appropriate fodder (groan) for .kids?
posted by stonerose at 6:49 AM on August 28, 2003

Yeah...exactly how do you get to be on the morality patrol? Cyveillance has mastered the art of saying nothing with a lot of words, so there's no telling what the qualifications for their "reviewers" are.

But I'm betting Heather has no more chance than Mark Twain text.
posted by dejah420 at 7:10 AM on August 28, 2003

Dot Kids Implementation and Efficiency Act of 2002

posted by MrMoonPie at 7:22 AM on August 28, 2003

funny cyvallence is a company that goes around and reports on trademark infringement.
posted by MrLint at 8:21 AM on August 28, 2003

ourgovernment.kids.us
posted by me3dia at 9:00 AM on August 28, 2003

okay, I just wanna say that mefi for kids would rule. Fart jokes aplenty.
posted by whatnot at 9:00 AM on August 28, 2003

Huh. It looks like jocksturges.kids.us is still available. Also larryclark.kids.us.

That's all I've got.
posted by PinkStainlessTail at 9:12 AM on August 28, 2003

Reading the title of this thread, you'd think the New Kids on the Block had come back from the dead and opened a web site...
posted by Mars Saxman at 9:55 AM on August 28, 2003

Great, protect kids from everything but WASP-centric pablum. I don't think it'll benefit kids more than, say, an existing blocking proxy, like Cyber Nanny or whatever, or (gasp) parental involvement.
posted by RylandDotNet at 10:58 AM on August 28, 2003