[Foundation-l] Image filter referendum

[WereSpielChequers]

Re "(is anyone really going to say that they don't think it's important to
be culturally neutral?)" That depends on what the referendum means by
culturally neutral.

If it will be interpreted as meaning that the setting of filters will be
neutral between all cultures, so Moslems will be able to use it to filter
out pictures of Mohammed and those cartoons; whilst other religious groups
will be able to filter out things that offend them, then I would have
supported it.

But if it is meant to be read literally as for example a culturally neutral
porn filter that somehow comes up with a common denominator between a Saudi
Arabian definition of porn and a Papuan one then I would oppose it. Some
cultures regard breasts, faces, ankles and midriffs as erotic and require
then to be covered in ordinary wear, others don't. A single culturally
neutral porn filter would probably be far more prudish than some  cultures
would expect, and insufficiently prudish for others.

The Mahomed cartoons are a good example of something that is monoculturally
offensive as opposed to multiculturally so (arguably they have become
multiculturally offensive because they are known to be offensive to Moslems
- but there will be other things that are offensive to various individual
cultures but are not multiculturally offensive because people from other
cultures would need an explanation as to why one culture found them
offensive).

WSC


Regards

WSC

> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 3
> Date: Tue, 16 Aug 2011 19:57:25 +0100
> From: Thomas Dalton <thomas.dalton at gmail.com>
> Subject: [Foundation-l] Image filter referendum
> To: Wikimedia Foundation Mailing List
>        <foundation-l at lists.wikimedia.org>
> Message-ID:
>        <CALTQccdRqtASjdq3CJpFT-v-jB97gJAuU4YywUXzbVSu5yEC6A at mail.gmail.com
> >
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8
>
> I've just been looking at the image filter referendum. Could someone
> from the Foundation please explain what you hope to gain by holding
> it? The questions are extremely leading, so I doubt you will learn
> anything useful from it (is anyone really going to say that they don't
> think it's important to be culturally neutral?). Are you hoping to
> determine people's priorities by seeing which ones they rate as 10 and
> which as merely 8 or 9? If so, why? Can you not just implement them
> all?
>
> My understanding was that this referendum was intended to give the
> community some say in what happened with this proposed feature. The
> questions you are asking don't do that in the slightest. If you want
> to be able to say the feature has community support, you need to
> actually ask the community whether or not they support it.
>
>
>
>