[Wikipedia-l] Autofellatio

[Jimmy (Jimbo) Wales]

Gregory Maxwell wrote:
> If your interest is to censor encyclopedic content on any wikimedia
> wikipedia, then your goals are at odds with the goals of the
> foundation.  Because you do not share the same goals, you should fork
> and produce your own project with censorship among it's goals.

This is really over-the-top, Gregory.

> If you continue to endorse censorship you are harming the project. 
> Please allow those who want to share knowledge freely the ability to
> do so on wikipedia by taking your censorship someplace else.

My problem with people using the word "censorship" in talking about
this very complex issue is precisely that we get responses like yours,
which are really not very helpful and short-circuit our ability to
think critically about the issue.

We are *all* (the major participants) opposed to censorship (in the
sense that you mean), including (very strongly) Anthere.  It is our
goal to educate and inform, not to shock, offend, or titillate.

Of course there is a tiny majority of people who are interested in
censoring Wikipedia.  Fine.  Ignore them.

But don't imagine that those of us who think that, for example, it is
blatantly obvious that the [[Imgae:Autofellatio_2.jpg]] image is wildly
inappropriate for wikipedia are simply prudish censors.  Such a view
really fails to respect and understand the point that we are making.

A respectful discussion of this difficult issue is hard to have if
anyone who is in favor of deleting some images from wikipedia is to be
shunned as a censor who ought to leave the project and fork.

Especially, for goodness sake, Anthere, who is a hero to us all.

--Jimbo