--- Jim Trodel trodel@gmail.com wrote:
The question is not one of Censorship but of Editorial Control and are the photos, etc helping us meet our mission - which is to become an trusted encyclopedic source of information.
Then don't filter/censor/self-censor/editorialize and: * Let grown ups decide for themselves * Stay NPOV * Help in creating the "Approved articles for under 17 audiences" (or whatever it is in your jurisdiction)
NPOV requires us to not suppress the views of the minority just to please the majority. NPOV also requires us to not discriminate against non-US, non-English speaking, non-Christian, non-White, and non-Republican views (I almost wrote fascist... sigh).
An encyclopedia is an exposition, a knowledge book, of mankind's experience on this planet. All subjects are by definition required. Leaving some out for a purpose means we will have failed at making a good encyclopedia.
Just as mankind's experiences can be joyous and gleeful, so can they be shocking and senseless. Just as men and women can treat each other with brotherly love and parental care, so can they treat each other with disdain and depravity.
I for one make no judgement one way or another. In one country, some things are allowed, even encouraged, and others frowned upon, in bad taste, even illegal. In another country, the reverse is true. Am I so high and mighty that I can tell my neighbors right from wrong on the land of their fathers and grandfathers? I think not.
==Grownups== Have you seen the internet lately? Crime, corruption, fud, sex, violence, greed, lies, deaths and gruesome deaths vie for attention with the Grammys. Yet there is also beauty, love, and friendship. Part of what makes a person mature is the ability to filter the good from the bad. If there was no sin, there would be no need for grace.
And when I want information on sexually transmitted diseases and S&M, I want wikipedia to be complete. Incompleteness is worse than useless.
==Kids== Just like the internet is not a place for american suburban 8 year olds, so is wikipedia. I have no problem with people telling parents to be leery of letting their kids into wikipedia.
Teens grow up and discover wikipedia and they become adults real-fast. But they would become adults anyway, and hopefully wikipedia will give them a broad and balanced view of the world, rather than the narrow and bigoted view they glean from their school so-called friends.
Young children have different needs. I would not put an 8-year old on wikipdedia if I was not sitting with then with my hand on the mouse.
But remember that not all children need this type of parenting. There are boys and girl prostitutes in many countries that are just 11 and 12. I suggest that these children, if they ever get access to wikipedia, will really need the information that is in the adult version.
Finally,
Unless we allow everything, we will just not be trusted. Want to know about the Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades? Go to wikipedia. Want to know about the Rwandan Genocide? Go to wikipedia. Did you know that Shanghai has the largest seaport in the world? Yes, you guessed it, from Wikipedia.
If some information is missing, then people will wonder what else is missing. And that will lead to mistrust. And to be a mistrusted encyclopedia is worse than reformatting the hard drives.
===== Chris Mahan 818.943.1850 cell chris_mahan@yahoo.com chris.mahan@gmail.com http://www.christophermahan.com/
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