Erik Moeller wrote:
Jimmy-
With photos, the "show" versus "don't show" really is an "either/or", though. The only possible compromise, and one which I think will almost always work just fine, is to *link* to the picture, with suitable warnings, and leave it at that.
If we make this official policy, we abandon NPOV for photos, for the reasons I have cited. Please refute my arguments or state clearly that you do want to abandon NPOV for photos.
I do not agree that this is an abandonment of NPOV at all. Perhaps you have misunderstood what I am saying? I will try to be more clear.
"The neutral point of view attempts to present ideas and facts in such a fashion that both supporters and opponents can agree. Of course, 100% agreement is not possible; there are ideologues in the world who will not concede to any presentation other than a forceful statement of their own point of view. We can only seek a type of writing that is agreeable to essentially rational people who may differ on particular points." That's the original paragraph that dates from when I coined the term, I'm pretty sure.
With text, there are a huge number of options available to us to seek a presentation such that "both supporters and opponents can agree".
With specfic images, our range of options is nearly always more limited. We can show the image on the page. We can show the image behind a link. We can delete the image entirely. In some cases, but probably not the most interesting or controversial ones, we can modify the image.
With such a limited range of options, the one that is most likely to be satisfactory to both supporters and opponents is to keep the image but place it behind a link, with appropriate warnings.
This is not a retreat from NPOV, it is the essence of NPOV.
It is true that some extreme fanatics may say that a photo of X must be shown immediately at the top of an article, or that photos of X must not be shown at all. "100% agreement is not possible; there are ideologues in the world who will not concede to any presentation other than a forceful statement of their own point of view."
But reasonable people will, I believe, in most cases agree that the "behind a link" is a sensible compromise.
--Jimbo