Unless ICANN instantly gives individuals the ability to launch .porno or .gphone, that is. At least those are the popular arguments with those who hate the new gTLD process ICANN is proposing and debating this week.

Like Braden, I’m in Los Angeles (more specifically the LAX Hilton) attending my very first ICANN meeting. My first impression, other than "LAX is a hell-hole," is that this conference is long, really long. There was a 6 hour general session yesterday! 6 hours of presentations and ‘open mic’ questions focusing on the proposed new gTLD process – which brings us back to "the End of All Free Speech and Innovation."

Some of the detractors of the gTLD application process proposal, argue that anything short of making the process of a free-for-all that will enable anyone and everyone to get their own gTLDs will kill off free speech and innovation on the Internet. While I value free speech and innovation as much as the next techy civil libertarian, I still don’t "get it."

I "get" the idea of fighting for the principles of innovation and free speech whenever they are in jeopardy. Perhaps it is my newbie naiveté, but I just don’t see how you can make anything more than a tenuous-at-best ‘slippery slope’ argument in this case.

Will there be less innovation in the world because Google can’t buy the .gphone domain for 5 dollars? Of course not. Will there be less innovation because every kid in a garage can’t buy a top level domain with her lunch money? Really, really doubtful.

Will there be less online free expression about China’s dreadful human rights record because no one was able to obtain the .chinaisevil top level domain? Will there be less sexual content on the internet because the .xxx wasn’t approved? No and definitely no. In fact, these TLDs will only make it easier for repressive governments to block that content from their citizens!

I can see how advocates can make the new gTLD process into an innovation or free speech issue, but it takes a lot of stretching. And is that really a productive strategy at a place like ICANN?

Perhaps, the most amazing thing about ICANN in my mind is that it works at all. ICANN is a massively multi-stakeholder body that is driven by creating bottom-up consensus. In an environment like this, advocates need to look for places for compromise if anything is to be done. This seems like a clear opportunity for the kind of compromise that makes ICANN work. Let’s hope everyone starts to realize it.