From: wikien-l-bounces(a)Wikipedia.org
[mailto:wikien-l-bounces@Wikipedia.org] On Behalf Of Jimmy Wales
1. Wikipedia is not a free webhosting service, your
userpage
is not your own infinite free-speech zone where you can
pontificate about anything, no matter how bad it makes Wikipedia look.
2. Wikipedia is a diverse community with extensive tolerance
for what people put on their userpages. We try to get people
to change with reason and kindness rather than hardcore
measures, whenever we can.
I like the analogy with a worker's cubicle. A certain amount of
self-expression is accepted. Family photographs, movie posters etc. But
displaying gatefolds from Penthouse or extreme political messages is
generally discouraged, sometimes to the extent of dismissal.
Now, achieving balance between these two is a
difficult
matter. But I think that people who self-identify as
pedophiles (with a userbox or
otherwise) could bring Wikipedia into serious disrepute, and
I have a real problem with that disruption.
The editor self-identifies as a sixteen year old boy. A quiet word rather
than a whack over the earhole might be more appropriate.
Looking at the history of [[NAMBLA]] it is clear that there are edits from
several points of view. Whether or not any of these edits were made by
self-identified paedophiles, it is hard to avoid the conclusion that some of
them were made by people with a deep and personal interest.
How do we maintain NPOV and avoid charges that we are a haven for
paedophiles, neo-Nazis and supporters of terrorism?
Peter (Skyring)