On Apr 7, 2006, at 2:36 PM, Sam Korn wrote:
So it's not whether the *public* would perceive it to be child porn-- it's whether *Ryan Delaney* would perceive it to be child porn.
Please give a definition under which it is *not* child porn.
Easily: child pornography is visual material that depicts explicit sexual activity involving children. My understanding (albeit unclear, as I've never seen the image in question) is that the image did not portray sexual activity.
You could also define child pornography as visual material that documents actually-occurring explicit sexual activity involving children. Since it's a fantasy sketch, not a photograph, there's no clear evidence that the image documents any actually-occurring activity either. Under US law, as well as the laws of several nations, erotic materials depicting children are perfectly legal so long as no children were harmed in their production--i.e., so long as they do not depict any actually-occurring activity.
I find absolutely no *moral* problem with the deleted image (although, needless to say, I do find it disgusting on other levels). However, I still support its deletion on *pragmatic* grounds--that the image itself was of net negative value to the encyclopedia.