--- On Mon, 7/2/11, Fred Bauder fredbaud@fairpoint.net wrote:
I doubt he will leave, but he was certainly in need of some feedback.
You were right there:
http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=User_talk:Timneu22&diff=prev&a...
I did think the incident would have left less of an impression on *him*. ;)
Feedback mechanisms are essential to the functioning of any complex system.
Feedback mechanisms only work if feedback is actually received; there is often little evidence of that.
On a different, but not completely unrelated issue, how do women editors feel about illustrations like those used here (Warning - not safe for viewing at work):
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hogtie_bondage http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bukkake
In my experience, any attempt to argue for editorial restraint in illustrating pages like this (e.g., using just *one* image, and leaving the rest to a Commons link) runs into a [[WP:NOTCENSORED]] brickwall. Female editors (with one exception I believe, who has run into this brickwall repeatedly to no effect, and at some cost to herself) are rarely participants in such discussions.
I am fairly certain that a demographically balanced pool of editors would come to a very different consensus than the one presently supported at these and similar pages.
Now one might argue that the majority of women readers and contributors are unlikely to visit these pages, and that therefore their look will not adversely affect their willingness to participate in Wikipedia. On the other hand, if viewed as an expression of prevailing Wikipedia demographics and community norms, they may also be seen as a reflection of an entrenched male-dominated culture that is confident in its ability to nullify and discount any challenge to its standards as illegitimate, and in conflict with project goals.
I think women editors need to do more to challenge this culture. Such an effort in itself, leading by example, might bring more female editors on board, and also get some male editors to reflect on their own assumptions. Perhaps a WikiProject or work group would be in order. Feminist action was necessary to effect change in society, to get people to stop and think, and I believe we need a little of that in Wikipedia as well. Males will not drop it by themselves, and it is not actually good for them to remain unchallenged on such issues.
Thoughts?
Andreas