[WikiEN-l] offensive photos policy
steven l. rubenstein
rubenste at ohiou.edu
Thu May 13 01:21:39 UTC 2004
I tried sending this message before and it bounced back. I don't think it
went through and I am resending -- if it did get through, sorry for the repeat.
admit that I haven't been following this discussion in its entirety (in
part because we've been through this before), and I apologize if I am
making a point others have already made.
In some of the examples people have given, I think it is a mistake to
construe it as a POV/NPOV issue in strict terms. As Erik points out, we
end up playing a simple numbers game, concerning how many people including
or excluding a photo offends. Surely there are more substantive criteria
we can use here, ones that move us away from asking whether the photo is
offensive (begging the question, for we must then ask, "according to
whom?"). I'd like to propose two, related criteria.
First, is the photo necessary in order to convey important information. In
the case of a vagina, for example, a drawing can convey just as much if not
more information. On these grounds alone, why not go for the drawing (I
think this specific matter came up some time ago)?
Second, is the image of a prurient nature? I do not mean that if might
offend some (our NPOV policy ensures that we will always offend some), but
rather that some people cruising the web might fixate on the image for
purposes external to those of an encyclopedia. I am sure we can come close
to a consensus as to whether this is likely or not.
I believe that even if an image is prurient in nature, if it is necessary
to convey important information we should keep it. If it is not necessary
to convey important information, we should find an alternative. In short,
I am appealing not to "NPOV" but to "wikipedia is an encyclopedia."
I understand that we might still argue over whether something is prurient
or not, or whether something is essential for communicating important
information. I just think it will be easier to reach a consensus on these
questions than on the question of whether or not it is offensive.
Steve
Steven L. Rubenstein
Associate Professor
Department of Sociology and Anthropology
Bentley Annex
Ohio University
Athens, Ohio 45701
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