Robert wrote:
Skyring writes:
And the end result would be that thousands of schools would ban Wikipedia, which would be a shame. Is there some way that we can find a technological solution? Have a "splash screen" that warns of explicit images? A cookie that prevents download of "adult content"? Something that will pop up when the casual user navigates to Autofellatio? All we really need is some sort of hurdle that must be leapt, some button that must be pressed, some door that must be opened.
This is an excellent idea (and is in no way censorship.) This is not only a good idea for sex-related articles, it also would be a good idea for any surgery-related articles, or articles on forensics. I don't want to see one of my students loosing their lunch...again.
I have taught many high school students about fertilization, fetal development and birth. (It is shocking how little so many of our 16 year olds actually know about their own bodies.) Most students were alright with all of it, even the videos, but some students screamed with genuine horror at seeing a woman actually give birth. One of them threw up! Granted, this wouldn't happen in some other cultures where birth is treated as just another fact of life, but where I live most people don't see such things, and some do not want to!
If I read an article where something "really gross" might be explained in a photo, I'd want an option to see it, and not have it forced on me. Given my student's reactions, I am not alone!
Finally, professional line-drawings (as opposed to photos) are apparently less of a problem. They are nearly universally considered less offensive (and/or gross) and are more often perceived as academic and professional (when drawn and labeled well.)
Speaking merely as a fairly independent individual, I am not interested in seeing explicit video or photographic stills of the birth process. I have seen such video before, and I have no interest at this juncture to repeat the experience. I'm also not interested in watching it in person.
That aside, however, I would like the ability to watch such things if I were to change my mind. It might be viewed as "horrifying", but it might also be viewed as "informative" or "educational".
As such, any solution that does not bar explicit content (as long as it's not gratuitous), but does allow for opting into a blocking mechanism (reversible on a case-by-case basis) if that is desired, sounds like a great idea for me. My question is this:
Is there anyone that finds that sort of "fix" to the issue inappropriate, inapplicable, incomplete, or otherwise objectionable? Is there any reason to force either visible presence or complete absence of such content on people?
-- Chad