[WikiEN-l] [[Kristian Menchaca]] - link to video

[Erik Moeller]

Perhaps it makes sense to follow up with a bit of personal background:
I'm operating a scientific archive called "The Origins of Peace and
Violence". On that site, we have an article that documents child abuse
in the United States:

http://www.violence.de/prescott/hustler/article.html

The article is illustrated with police photographs showing children
who have been beaten or mutilated. I find it very important to have
these photographs, because people have very strange ideas about what
child abuse is (and in general, anything sexual receives a lot more
attention than the everyday incidents of murder, abuse and neglect).

The reason I mention this is that I've received quite a few complaints
about this website, including one from the same institution that
contacted ogrish.com, the German agency for the protection of minors.
They actually sent me a several page analysis why this page would have
to be placed behind a child protection (adult check) system.

I responded in detail to this complaint, and altered the page
(originally there was a  separate page that included only the
pictures), and the complaint was withdrawn. To me this is an example
how a complex subject like violence against children can be handled in
a responsible manner. I see this in sharp contrast to sites whose
reason for existence seems to be the mere fascination with brutality.

In my opinion, Wikipedia should be very careful when linking to such
sites -- it reflects poorly on us, because the information is
contextualized in a manner that is considered inappropriate by most
people. We are an encyclopedia and it is part of our editorial
responsibility to contextualize information neutrally and
appropriately.
-- 
Peace & Love,
Erik

Member, Wikimedia Foundation Board of Trustees

DISCLAIMER: Unless otherwise stated, all views or opinions expressed
in this message are solely my own and do not represent an official
position of the Wikimedia Foundation or its Board of Trustees.