John Lee wrote:
I agree a technical solution is required, but until we have one, linking is better than offending a substantial number of our readers. It's the psychology of the thing - if people don't have full-blown images thrust in their face, they naturally assume it's safe. It doesn't make sense, but from my experience, the appearance of being clean is the best middle ground between having no potentially offensive images at all and shoving it in readers' faces.
It's psychological, but it's not an assumption of safety. Many people are going to be far more comfortable reading a description -- even detailed -- of a sexual act than seeing a photograph of it.
I've been looking at this as a debate on presentation, not content.