We are wondering on Meta[1] what criteria the Commons search function uses to establish the order of search results displayed.
To give some examples, searching for "pearl necklace" in Commons shows a woman with sperm on her neck as the first image result:
http://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special%3ASearch&search=p...
The same image is way down in a Google search (with safe search off) for pearl necklace on Commons:
http://www.google.co.uk/search?q=cucumber+site:commons.wikimedia.org&um=...
Searching for "electric toothbrushes" in Commons shows a woman masturbating with a toothbrush as the second image result:
http://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special%3ASearch&search=e...
The same image turns up in Google as well (with safe search switched off), though not as one of the first results:
http://www.google.co.uk/search?q=cucumber+site:commons.wikimedia.org&um=...
Searching for "cucumber" in Commons shows a woman with a cucumber up her vagina on the first page of search results:
http://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special%3ASearch&search=c...
Doing a Google search for cucumber on Commons (with safe search off) does not bring this image up among the first hundred or so results:
http://www.google.co.uk/search?q=cucumber+site:commons.wikimedia.org&um=...
Why is our listing so different from the one in Google, and why are sexual images so much higher up in our listing of search results?
Andreas
[1] http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Controversial_content/Brainstorming